In Over My Head
by K-yers
Summary: Suzanne Moody has returned to her childhood home of Charming, and with it, she's inherited her late uncle's restaurant. It isn't long until she finds out about her uncle's deal with SAMCRO, but the club is tight-lipped about how and why he died. As Suzanne attempts to find out the truth, she'll find that she's bitten off more than she can chew. Seasons 1-4
1. 1: SAMCRO

The restaurant looked exactly how I remembered it. The two story building had its own private garden dining area in the front with a black iron fence, gating it in. There were some customers sitting out there now, enjoying their breakfast before heading off to work or school. A dark green awning hung out from the building, shielding these customers from the morning sun. Across the awning in bright white, block letters spelt out the name of the name of the restaurant and my last name: Moody's.

I got out of my car, a black nineteen-seventy Buick, and approached the restaurant that my uncle had owned. The car had also been his; it seemed almost everything I owned now had once belonged to either him, or my parents. I entered the dark inside of the restaurant and was met by a blast of cold air. I remembered being six years old and watching my dad install that air conditioner. He had thought that customers would like it if they could cool off right when they got inside.

While the outside of the restaurant hadn't changed at all, the inside seemed nicer and cleaner than I remembered. The booth cushions had apparently been replaced and polished. There wasn't a speck of dust or debris anywhere on the floor. Uncle Vince obviously picked up the slack when my family left.

"Ma'am?" A familiar Southern drawl said from behind the bar. I looked over to see Shelly Singer, a fifty-something year old woman who had worked at Moody's since I was little. "If you would go ahead and sit down anywhere you like, a waitress will be with you shortly."

I stepped up to the bar, suddenly feeling small. "Actually, I'm here to see Valerie. She's supposed to talk to me about..." I trailed off, not knowing how to say that because my uncle died, I now owned the place. Shelly's eyes widened as she looked at my face and her moth opened to make a perfect "O".

"My heavens," She muttered. "_Suzy?_ Is that you?"

My face broke into a smile and I nodded. "It's nice to see you, Shelly." Shelly squealed with excitement and she hurried out from behind the counter. I laughed as she rushed to me to give me a big hug. I hugged her back. When Shelly let me go, she held me out at arm's length to get a good look at me.

"You've gotten taller," She said with a smile. "And you've dyed your hair!"

I scratched my head self-consciously. "Yeah, I wasn't up for being blond." Shelly's smile faltered a bit.

"I'm really sorry about Vince," She said sadly. "I know that you and your uncle were pretty close before y'all moved away." I nodded. A few of the customers were watching us with curiosity and I was reminded at the size of this town. By tomorrow, half the town would know that I was back.

Shelly must've read my mind because she glanced at customers and rushed me behind the counter and into the kitchen. I breathed in deeply: this had been my favorite place when I was younger and it still was just that. A large island stood in the middle of it, and at the moment it was strewn with ingredients for the omelets that I had seen some of the customers eating. And behind the grill, wielding a frying pan and spatula, was Valerie.

Valerie had just started to work when my family had decided to move away from Charming. I didn't remember her as much as I remembered Shelly, but I could remember one time when Valerie had let me help her bake the muffins for breakfast.

"Hey Val," Shelly said. "Look who's here!"

"If it's those damn bikers again, I'm gonna-" Whatever Valerie would do to those bikers, I didn't get to hear. She turned around and stopped speaking right upon sighting me. She stared at me for a while before recognizing me and breaking into a smile. "Well, isn't it little Suzie all grown up? How old are you now?"

"Twenty-two," I said, allowing Valerie to quickly hug me before she returned to the omelets before they burned. Shelly left to go answer the ringing phone, leaving me to wander around the kitchen.

"So what's been going on, sweet pea?" Valerie asked without looking at me. She was focusing on making the omelets.

I shrugged. "I've graduated college but now I'm completely broke. I got called in for the reading of Uncle Vince's will, and that was the first time I heard about him being dead: he and my parents weren't on the best of terms before we left. So, all in all, pretty crappy."

Valerie glanced at me from the grill, looking sorry. She removed the omelets from the heat and placed them on separate plates. "Sorry to hear that, I know that Vince always wanted you to take over this place."

"Honestly I'm thinking about working here for a few months and then selling it." I said honestly. Valerie gave me a sharp look.

"But this place was your uncle's life work! You're prepared to get rid of all that?"

"I'm not going to be selling it to a complete stranger!" I defended myself. "I'm gonna see if there's someone in town who'd want it. Someone who I know would take good care of this place." Valerie nodded but still looked vaguely annoyed. I took in the ovens behind me. "Do you guys use these often?"

Valerie followed my gaze and shook her head. "Only whenever we make muffins for breakfast. Your uncle was terrible at baking desserts." I snorted, remembering one time when he had tried to bake brownies with me. He had nearly set the kitchen on fire.

Shelly returned, looking nervous. "Um, Val, we better get some muffins in the oven." Valerie narrowed her eyes at Shelly. Shelly swallowed. "SAMCRO just called and a few of them will be here in about a hour."

"Who now?" I asked, feeling oddly left out and nervous all of a sudden.

"I imagine you were too young to remember SAMCRO." Valerie said. Then she turned to Shelly. "Make sure the other employees know it, we don't want them to try and stop them." Shelly nodded, her cheery self gone in a second. Valerie looked back at me. "Help me get the muffins ready."

I hurried and followed her to the walk-in pantry in the back where the ingredients were kept. Valerie headed straight for a cardboard box and she pulled out a bag of instant muffin mix.

"You guys use instant?" I asked in surprise. Valerie looked a little ashamed.

"Like I said, your uncle was horrible at baking, and so am I."

I did some fast thinking. "Um, what kind of muffins do these guys like?"

Valerie narrowed her eyes, thinking about it. "Blueberry and chocolate are the favorites." I took the instant mix from her hands and dumped it back in the cardboard box.

"No more instant," I said curtly. "Now help me find some baking powder, flour, vanilla extract, and salt" I left the pantry while Valerie hunted these ingredients down while I grabbed two eggs, milk, and (to my relief) blueberries from the refrigerator. Valerie placed her ingredients down on the island next to mine, and watched me pluck up a clean bowl. I noticed her staring. "Since we left I kinda got obsessed with baking and my mom hated using instant mixes, so we made just about everything from scratch."

Valerie continued her usual business as customers came and left. A few other employees came into the kitchen when they heard about me. I didn't recognize any of them and I struggled to remember their names as I busied myself with the muffins. Shelly shooed them all away, telling them to get with their jobs. The muffins were almost out of the oven when Valerie and I heard Shelly through the kitchen window.

"W-Well, hello there!" She said unnaturally loud, letting the whole restaurant know just how scared she was of the SAMCRO men that had just walked in. I couldn't make out the response, but it didn't matter cause the kitchen door opened with a snap and three of most intimidating men I had ever seen walked in.

The first one was built heavily, but you could tell by looking at him that it was all muscle. He had gray hair and a mustache to match. His blue eyes scanned the kitchen, resting on me for a moment before he turned to Valerie.

His companions weren't as built, but they could probably still knock anyone down. One had curly black hair and a mustache and small beard, and he was taller than the first biker and he completely towered over me. The last biker had dark brown, almost black hair that was graying and along scar that slashed through the side of his face. I shuddered at the idea of how he got that scar.

"Mornin' Valerie," The first biker said. His voice was a deep growl. Valerie narrowed her eyes and nodded curtly at him.

"Clay, we got the food baking right now," She said shortly. Clay sniffed the air and grinned.

"Smells better than usual," He said. That's when he fully noticed me standing by the ovens. He cocked his head to the side. "Who's this."

Before Valerie could answer, I cleared my throat. "Moody," I said. The two nameless bikers glanced at each other. But Clay remained expressionless, he was too busy scanning my face for what I knew what similarities to my uncle.

"Vince mentioned a niece." Clay said finally. "He's got a picture of you from high school graduation in his office." Without meaning to, I glanced in the direction of my uncle's office, which I had completely forgotten to go into. "You look like your dad, though. Except with dark hair."

The oven beeped and I stiffly retrieved the muffins from the oven, feeling all three bikers watching me closely. They had walked in here like they owned the place, did Uncle Vince make a deal with them before he died? I placed the hot tray on the island and saw that Clay was speaking to Valerie in a hushed voice. Then Valerie assigned one of the other kitchen employees to keep an eye on the stove before she and Clay went into my uncle's office. Meanwhile, the curly haired biker walked forward and tried to grab a muffin. Without thinking about the consequences, I slapped his hand away, making a loud snapping noise.

"Ow!" He said, rubbing his hand. He looked from his hand to me with mistrust and anger in his eyes. "What the hell was that for?" The biker behind him was containing fits of laughter.

"Force of habit," I said quickly. "If you mess with them too much before they've cooled, they can fall apart really easily." He continued glaring at me, as if trying to find something to say to that. "Do you want some ice?" I asked, despite the fact that I hadn't hit him that hard. The man's expression softened just a tad and he shook his head. He pushed himself up to sit on the island-top. I made a mental note to wipe down the counters as soon as these guys left.

"Do ya happen to have any water?" The biker in the back asked in a Scottish accent. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and tossed it to him. He caught it and raised it up to me, as if giving cheers. "Name's Chibs, by the way. And the pouter sitting on your counter is Tig."

"Okay," I said, forcing myself to remember their names. It felt like it'd be important to remember them. Chibs nodded at me again and chugged a decent amount of his water. Tig remained sitting on the counter, glancing every so often at the tray of muffins. I spotted the cook at the stove watching them carefully. And then Shelly would glance in through the window to check on them.

Looking down at the muffins, I deemed that they were ready to be put into a to-go bag. I grabbed a fresh spatula and carefully removed one from the tray. Tig was watching with narrowed eyes that widened with surprise when I reached it out to hand to him. The fresh muffin hung in the air for a moment before Tig reached out and took it. I then went to find a bag large enough for the muffins while he bit into it.

"Holy shit," Tig said through a mouthful of blueberry muffin, sending bits of it onto the clean floor. The cook stared at the crumbs and then glared at Tig before turning his back on them completely. I returned with a to-go bag and began to pile the muffins into it. Tig stared at me, having just swallowed his first mouthful.

"These are different than usual," He said. "What did you do to make them better?"

I blinked at him. "I made them from scratch." I said simply. Tig stared at me as if I was going to tell him the elaborate process of making them better. Chibs strode forward and, with a wary glance at me, reached in the bag to get himself a muffin. But before he could begin to eat, Clay barged back into the kitchen.

"Put it back, Chibs, we'll eat it all at the club." Clay said with a disapproving glance at Tig, who had crumbs in his beard. Chibs gave Clay a look that said "are you kidding me?" but tossed the muffin into the bag anyway. He rolled the top of the bag down and took it, following Clay and Tig to the cash register. I walked to the window to see them pay.

Before they turned to walk out the door, Chibs glanced up and saw me watching. He raised his water bottle again (it was just about empty), and called out, "Thank you, Miss Moody."

Tig saw me too and repeated it, "Thank you, Miss Moody." Clay glanced between his club members and me before nodding at me. Shelly gave them their change with a very shaky hand, and the bikers left. I finally got a good look at the back of their leather vests.

_Sons of Anarchy._


	2. 2: To A Man's Heart

It wasn't even a week later after SAMCRO's first visit that they wanted to get more food from me. This time, they wanted an assortment of muffins, and they offered more time. I had just finished putting a large platter of banana nut muffins on display when Shelly told me. I stared at her.

"Was it bad that I made scratch instead of instant?" I asked her, feeling nervous about giving them a reason to come back. But Shelly just shrugged, obviously nervous about them coming back so soon, but she was determined not to let that fear show.

"They used to come by every other week when Vince was in charge." Valerie told me through the kitchen window. "But I think they like you better. My mom used to always tell me that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach."

Shelly let out a nervous laugh. "They'll be back more. Just wait and see."

I got started on the SAMCRO order. Russ, a fry cook, offered to help in any way. I dismissed him, preferring to work by myself. I quickly made the blueberry batter as soon as the banana nut batter was in the oven. Valerie had gone to the store for me and had picked up a whole bunch of ingredients for homemade muffins, cupcakes, cakes, and any other pastry she could come up with. The last batch was in oven (chocolate chip) when the bell at the door rang and Shelly loudly greeted SAMCRO.

Just like last time, the bikers walked right into the kitchen, clearly comfortable. Clay and Chibes weren't with them and I found myself facing completely new faces. Tig was the only familiar face.

"Hey, Miss Moody!" Tig said cheerfully. "Can I go ahead and grab one, or do I need to wait?"

"Go ahead and get one from the bag," I said, nodding to it. He quickly plucked one up from inside and bit into it. He made a noise from back in his throat.

"Better than last time," Tig said. "What kind are these?"

"Banana nut," I answered, feeling a surge of pride at the compliment. Then I really noticed his companions. "Um, who are you?"

One had blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had an air of confidence around him that made me feel a little less nervous. He stuck out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Jax." I shook his hand and he began to introduce me to the two guys behind him. "The guy with the hair is Bobby," Jax pointed at a bigger guy with a mane of curly grayish brown hair. Bobby smiled and nodded at me. "And the one with the Mohawk is Juice." Juice was a Hispanic guy with (like Jax said) a Mohawk and tribal tattoos on either side of it. He smiled widely at me.

The oven beeped and I abandoned them to go take care of the rest of the muffins. Bobby inhaled deeply as I sat the tray down and started to remove the other batch from its tray.

"Hey, Juice," Tig said suddenly. I glanced up to see Tig wearing a mischievous expression on his face. "Why don't you grab a fresh one? They're gonna be the best thing you've ever tasted." Juice glanced between Tig to the fresh muffins and smiled to himself. I saw Tig give Bobby and Jax an evil grin when Juice's back was turned.

Just like Tig he reached out for the hot tray, causing me to instantly slap his hand away. Juice let out a loud yell and looked at me with a hurt expression. "Sorry," I muttered, but I would've been surprised if he could hear me because Tig, Bobby, and Jax were laughing so loudly.

"God dammit, Juice!" Tig cried out. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that if you grab a muffin fresh out the oven, it could fall apart?"

"No," Juice said in a way that made me really guilty for hitting him. I grabbed a muffin from the bag and handed it to him. Juice took it, gave me a small smile, and bit into it.

The bikers didn't really talk to me as I finished packing their food to go. They talked amongst themselves, though about what, I could barely comprehend. There was this guy named Darby and a group called the Mayans. I didn't try to eavesdrop, not wanting these guys to get mad at me for some reason. As soon as their food was ready, Jax went to the cash register to pay. Bobby, Tig, and Juice each took a bag and walked out in line. And although it could've been an accident, Juice brushed his fingers across mine as he took the bag from my hands.

Just like last time, I watched them from the window to make sure that they paid, and like last time, Tig noticed me looking and he smiled. "Thank you, Miss Moody!" He called out. Bobby, Jax, and Juice all looked at him before repeating it.

Three different "Thank you, Miss Moody"s sounded as they walked out the door. I shook my head at it, feeling my face turn red. When I returned to the kitchen, Valerie was waiting for me with a knowing smile on her face.

"Yep," She said. "We're gonna be seeing a lot more of them."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling my face turn even redder. I willed it to stop.

Valerie snorted. "The way through a man's heart is through his stomach." She then walked away to check on the grill, as if that saying explained it all. I quickly cleaned up my area and the counter top that Tig had sat on again before going to my uncle's old office. Or my office, as it was being called now.

When I had first entered the office, it was dusty and unorganized, telling me that no one had touched it since Uncle Vince died. And, just like Clay said, there had been a photo of me from my high school graduation. There had also been a picture of me, my parents, and Uncle Vince from when I was eight, which meant that it had been taken soon before we left Charming. There was also a picture of Uncle Vince with some woman I didn't know, and one of me and him when he had taken me fishing when I was five.

If you just looked at these pictures, you would assume that my family had a good life here. But I vaguely remembered my dad and uncle fighting all the time, and how my mom used to have hushed conversations with my dad about leaving Charming for years before they actually did it. I still had no clue as to what they were talking about or why they had hated it here so much.

But since I had moved into the office, I had cleaned it, which made a huge difference. The picture of my family still sat on the desk, the rest I put upstairs. The restaurant had a full upstairs apartment, which was where my uncle lived, and now where I was trying to make it seem more like home and less like his home.

There was a large bookshelf in the office, I looked at some of books there: most of them were cook books, there was a history of the town of Charming, and a book all about motorcycles. I thought about the Sons of Anarchy and pulled that book from the shelf. But something caught my eye right when I removed it from its place. There was what looked like a light switch and it had been hidden by the motorcycle book.

Curiosity filled me and I flipped the switch. The entire bookshelf shuddered and slid to the right about an inch. I blinked. An inch of darkness had appeared on one side of the shelf, just wide enough for someone to reach their fingers into. Wariness washed over me and I got closer to try and peer into the darkness. But it was too dark to see anything. I slide my fingers into the gap and pulled, like I would for a door. The book shelf stayed put. Instead of pulling, I pushed farther to the right and it rolled all the way open.

How long had there been a secret room in here?

I took a step forward, nearly falling on the stairs that immediately began at the book shelf. I started to paw the wall for a light switch. Nothing.

"Shit!" I shrieked when something light and thin touched my face. I reached out and my hand closed around a metal string, it felt like. I yanked on it and light filled the room.

"What the hell?" I muttered, climbing the rest of the way down the stairs. The room was extremely large, looking like a basement. There wasn't any furniture or furnished floors or walls. It was all cement. But what kept my attention and made me feel sick was the fact that there was chains hanging from the ceiling and bloodstains on the floor.

"Suzanne?"

I yelped and jumped out of my skin. Shelly was standing at the foot of the stairs, wearing the same scared look that she usually reserved only for SAMCRO. "You weren't supposed to know about this yet." She said softly.


	3. 3: Vince's Deal

"What the hell is this?" I asked, forcing my voice to sound braver than I was feeling. Shelly didn't answer right away. "Shelly!"

She flinched. "Your uncle made some sort of deal with SAMCRO years ago. Back when you were about, say, four years old." I didn't say anything, allowing for her to continue. "He-He made the deal with Clay that if they would be able to use this basement for...special reasons...then your uncle's family would be able to be protected by Clay and the rest of them." She paused. "Special ordered food was just a side deal."

I felt my head spinning, making me feel like I was going to throw up. I slumped down on the wall to keep from collapsing. "W-What did we need protecting from?"

"Your uncle cheated another gang. They didn't find out, but he still didn't want to take any chances."

I looked up at Shelly. "What gang?"

Shelly shook her head. "I don't remember. Clay was supposed to come and show it to you."

I stood up. "Why Clay? Hell, Shelly, you've known me much longer than he does. Why did I have to hear it from a complete stranger?"

"Clay told Valerie earlier this week that he still had use for this basement." Shelly said slowly. "He wanted to make a similar deal with you."

"But I don't need protection from any other gang," I said immediately. The look on Shelly's face made me backtrack though. "Do I?"

Shelly shrugged. "You should know by now that those men, they terrify me. Who knows what they'd do to a useless end? They might come after you if you cut off the deal that your uncle made." She stopped talking, tears filling her eyes.

I should've been angry, and I was, but only slightly. The only emotion I could fully register at the moment was fear and anticipation. The way that the SAMCRO men walked into the restaurant, it was like they owned the place. With the deal that Uncle Vince made, they practically did if my uncle wanted to remain a free man. I looked around the basement.

"What are you gonna do?" Shelly asked slowly. I glanced at her and headed upstairs.

"What's Clay's number?" I asked as I passed her. "If he wants this room, he can have it, but on my terms."

Clay's number had been in my uncle's old address book that I had found in his desk drawer. Clay's name was under some auto shop and it only had the shop's number and address. I shooed Shelly from the office and told her to tell everyone else that I wasn't to be disturbed. Then I turned off the light in the basement and shut the bookshelf-door. My hands were shaking as I dialed the number to the auto shop.

It rang four times before a woman picked up the phone and spoke in a bored voice. "Hello, this is Gemma from Teller-Morrow Auto Shop, how may I help you?"

"Um, is Clay Morrow there?" I asked, looking at Clay's last name that had been scribbled onto the address book. That sounded stupid, I scolded myself. That sounded like a middle schooler asking for her crush.

There was a silence on the other end. "Who's asking?" The woman-Gemma-asked, sounding very defensive all of a sudden.

"Moody," I said, feeling like I should've hung up. There was more silence before Gemma told me to hold on, and then there was the sound of the phone being put down. For about three minutes I sat in silence, thinking that I should've hung up. But then a rattling noise filled my ear ad I heard Clay's growl.

"Moody?" He asked.

I didn't know what to say for a second. But then I settled on, "I know about the basement."

Clay sighed on the other end. "I'm on my way."

"Wh-?" I started but Clay had already hung up. I was left with the dead air on the phone. "Shit,"

About twenty minutes later, Clay walked in the front door with Chibs. Shelly nearly hid from them when they walked in. I had been pacing in the kitchen with Valerie watching me and a few other employees looking at me with confusion. Clay opened the kitchen door with a snap and made a bee-line for my office. Chibs waited for me to follow him before bringing up the rear.

Clay sat down in one of the two chairs in front of my desk, I took my own seat while Chibs closed the door, waiting outside. Clay watched me carefully, sizing me up. Just like if he was trying to decide if I was a threat or not. He broke the tense silence by breaking into a surprisingly wide smile.

"So you found the basement faster than I thought you would," He said. "I'm impressed: I thought it'd take at least two weeks."

"My uncle needed protection, and you gave it to him only if you got to use this basement?" I said, wanting Clay to confirm everything. Clay frowned at me.

"It was more than that." He said. "Vince and I were friends. He was never a part of the club, not completely, but he did help us get out of tight spots. Your uncle was more than happy to let us use that basement of his. There was never any danger from another gang." Clay stopped, seeing the confused expression of my face. "That's what the hostess told you?"

I nodded. Clay snorted and continued. "Then that must've been what he told her and the manager, Valerie. Because your uncle respected the club, and he was loyal to a fault." Clay glanced over to the bookshelf. "It'd be a shame for that soundproofed basement to go waste."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I said, "You want my blessing to use that room as a torture chamber?"

"If we needed it as that." Clay said with a deeper growl than usual. He leaned forward. "And if we needed to store our guns in there, then we'd use it as a private storage unit."

"And what if I say no?"

"Well, we can't exactly barge into your lovely restaurant here." Clay said. "We'd leave you and your employees alone. You'd never hear from us again. But if you want to ex the deal with Vince, then think about what would happen if _you _ever needed _our _help."

I did. At first it was hard to think of a scenario where I would need an outlaw motorcycle club's help. But then I remembered what Shelly had said earlier today about more gangs, and how the SAMCRO members themselves talked about a group called the Mayans. What if I ever needed sanctuary from them, and SAMCRO would turn their noses up at me.

Clay was staring at me with a smile on his face, he knew that he had me cornered. I met his eyes. "I'll keep the deal with my uncle going, but not on just any terms." Clay's smile faded. "If you guys ever need to use that basement, whether its hiding your guns or whatever, you can. _But_, I refuse to have your enemies trapped down there. If you hid someone down there and they got out, it'd be my employees and my ass getting hurt. And if they got away, then I'd be considered an enemy of theirs. And secondly, if you are going to be carting guns through here, you'll park in the alley behind the restaurant, and come through the back door in the kitchen. On second thought, just come in through there from now on, cause you guys scare my customers."

Clay held my gaze for a long moment before nodding and smiling. "That can all be arranged, Miss Moody. Do we have a deal?"

I sighed. "Yeah, we've got a deal." Then I remembered. "And you guys can keep getting breakfast from us, but you still gotta call ahead. Like I said, you scare everyone."

"It's a deal, then," Clay said, standing up and offering me his hand. I shook it. "Pleasure doing business with you." He opened the office door, revealing Chibs waiting for us outside. Clay left my sight without another word, and Chibs gave me a friendly nod and smile before following. I didn't leave my office until I heard the kitchen door snap shut. And when I stood in the kitchen, I could hear their motorcycles drive away.


	4. 4: Familiar Faces

I think SAMCRO got the idea that I didn't want them around for a while, because they didn't call for food or any other reason for about two weeks. The silence was in some ways, comforting to know that they were smart to know when to back off. In other ways, it was unnerving. The silence went for so long that Valerie and Shelly confronted me after work to ask if I tossed the club out forever. Shelly was visibly disappointed by the news that I did no such thing. She would've been more than happy to never see a man from SAMCRO ever again.

On the first week of SAMCRO's silence, there was a news story on TV that majority of my customers talked about. The images on the TV showed a large lot just outside of town where a warehouse of some sort had been burned to the ground. I stood out in the main dining area behind the bar with Shelly, watching the TV as the reporter said that the police believe that the fire was a gas leak, due to the malfunctioning propane tanks.

"Oh, I do hope that no one got hurt," Shelly said in a low voice. She glanced over to the closest table to us, where a family with two elementary school kids were sitting. I nodded, looking at the burning wreckage.

It was nearly three weeks of silence before SAMCRO called. This time, I had finished all the food before they showed up, not wanting them to hang out that long. There was a loud knock on the back door. I opened it, revealing Chibs and Juice.

"Sorry for the silence, Miss Moody," Chibs said as he entered. He was wearing dark sunglasses to cover his eyes. Juice walked in behind him, flashing me a wide smile as he entered. Chibs took in the already packed food on the counter and raised one eyebrow at me from behind his glasses. "You want us out fast today?"

"Actually yes," I said. "Sorry, but I'm a little freaked out by SAMCRO at the moment."

Juice nodded with a look of understanding on his face. Chibs pushed his sunglasses so that they sat up on the top of his head. "That's understandable. D'you want me to tell Clay ya need more time, or what?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You guys have been waiting for me to come around?"

"Well," Juice said quickly, cutting off Chibs, who had been about to answer. "Clay said a week, but then, um, complications came up."

I tilted my head o the side a bit. What kind of complications would they have? Juice and Chibs glanced at each other. "Something happened with Jax's girl, drug overdose." Juice said. "She was kind of pregnant."

Chibs snorted. "'Kind of pregnant'? Boy, you better hope you don't get a girl _kind of _pregnant." Juice shrugged.

"So what happened to the baby?" I asked, feeling my pulse spike.

"He's a preemie," Chibs said, his accent dragging the word out. "There was some surgery to worry about, but Doc says that he's stable. So there's our good news."

I shook my head, feeling awful for Jax and his kid. Juice coughed suddenly and I looked at them in time to see him giving Chibs a pointed look. Chibs cleared his throat. "Clay's got a request for you, Moody."

"Oh God," I said, a sick feeling in my stomach. "What does he want with the room?"

"It's not the room he wants," Chibs said. "He needs a meet-up with Darby, some Nazi-loving meth dealer. Your diner-restaurant, whatever you want to call it, seemed like a good enough place to meet."

I stared at both of them. Neither of them said anything, just waited for my answer. "Are you serious?" Juice nodded. "My deal with Clay was for the room, not the whole building!" I hissed at them. They, for the most part, looked slightly ashamed for asking, but at the same time they didn't look away from me. I sighed, wanting to punch Clay. "I'm assuming that the meet-up will happen here with or without my permission?"

"Pretty much," Juice replied, a small grin on his face. But it disappeared when he saw the outraged look on my face. He cleared his throat. "Clay said to give you a two day warning. So just expect us sometime then, it could be at any time." With that, he pulled a wad of crumbled dollar bills from his back pocket and put it down on the counter. "They kinda got crushed by the bike."

He and Chibs took their to-go bags and when I tried to give them their change, Juice shook his head. "Keep the change." He said. I followed them out into the alley, where they both got onto their bikes.

"See ya in two days, Miss Moody." Chibs yelled right before driving out of the alley. Juice followed him with one last look in my direction.

* * *

The day Clay was supposed to have his meet-up was probably the most stressful day I had ever had. I had warned Shelly that they'd be coming in the front door to actually sit down and eat. I left out the part about the meeting with the Nazi-loving meth dealer.

Russ the cook had actually taught me how to cook his famous roast beef sandwich. It was one of the most popular items on the menu and I figured that I had to be familiar with almost all of the place's dishes. I was chopping carrots when someone knocked hard on the back door.

"Russ, could you get that?" I asked. Russ nodded and opened the door, glaring at whoever showed up. Juice walked in with another new face, but this time, I recognized him almost right away.

"Kip?" I said, staring at him. Kip Epps stared at for a second before his eyes got really wide.

"Suzy?" He responded, looking just as confused as I did.

"How the _hell _do you two know each other?" Juice piped in. He was glaring at Kip while glancing back and forth between us.

"We used to be neighbors," I said. "And we went to the same elementary school,"

Kip nodded. "Yeah, we were friends back in those days. Oh, and my name is Half-Sack now."

"Do I want to know?" I asked. He shook his head all while Juice had a weird and bothered-looking expression. I turned to him. "Is Clay meeting with that guy now?"

Juice nodded. "He should be here in-" The bell to the entrance of the restaurant dinged and Shelly let out a greeting that made its way through the window and to our ears. "Now."

Juice and Half-Sack rushed to the window to peek through. I shook my head and continued chopping carrots. After a few minutes, the two bikers backed away from the window and Half-Sack started for the back door. "I'll go tell Tig and Chibs that it's starting." He said to Juice before looking at me. "Nice to see you're running the place now." And with that, he left through the door, leaving me alone with Juice.

I finished one carrot and began another. Juice edged closer, his eyes carefully tracking the knife. "So, how exactly do you know Sack? I mean, I don't think you're the same age. Wait, are you?"

"No, K-I mean, _Half-Sack_ is three years older." I replied, finally finished chopping. "There were no other kids in the neighborhood, so boom, friendship." Juice smirked.

"What are you making?" He asked, changing the subject. "Unless I'm mistaken, you don't put carrots into baked goods."

"You've obviously never had homemade carrot cake," I said, dumping the carrots into the pot of roast. "But those were for the pot roast sandwiches. Apparently, they're popular."

"I like cake," Juice said. "You think you can make me some?" I looked back at him. He had a cocky grin on his face and was biting the inside of his mouth.

"Are you flirting with me?" I asked, pointing the knife at him. Juice's grin faltered a bit when he saw my knife but he didn't move a muscle. I snorted. "Maybe I should've added, 'No hitting on Moody' while I was making the deal."

The kitchen door snapped open and Shelly was standing there. She took in Juice leaning towards me and she coughed awkwardly. "Um, they left. I, uh, thought you should know." She ducked back into the dining area.

I turned back to Juice. "Well, you heard her. Go follow your boys." Juice looked amused but left through the back anyway. Before I shut the door behind him, Juice turned back towards me.

"See ya later, Moody!" He called before mounting his bike. I waved goodbye before shutting the door. Valerie approached me as I returned to the pot roast.

"That one seems to be coming around more," She said, trying to make it sound like a casual conversation. I nodded. "Be careful around them." Valerie said.

"I am," I said, putting the roast in the oven.

Valerie grabbed my shoulders once I had straightened up and turned me around so that I faced her. "Be careful around _all _of them." She said seriously, looking me in the eye. Then she le me go and walked over to Russ to check on the burgers. I walked to my office and sat down, not knowing exactly how I was going to control these bikers.


	5. 5: Treacherous

It was almost midnight the next night when I heard a banging at the front of the restaurant. I finished collecting all of my ingredients and stared at the door to the kitchen. Who the hell was coming at this hour? Just about everyone in town knew that Moody's closed at ten. I couldn't think of anyone who would show up this late...

I grabbed my baseball bat and made my way slowly to the kitchen door. The door creaked slightly as I opened it. The dining area was completely deserted, the blinds on the windows and front door shut tight. I flinched as more banging occurred on the door, harder this time.

Raising my bat high, ready to swing at any moments notice, I peeked through the blinds and let out a frustrated sigh. "God dammit," I hissed, unlocking the door and opening it to see Juice standing in the doorway. "You nearly gave me heart attack."

Juice raised his eyebrows a bit and rubbed his head. "Sorry; I was passing by and I saw a light on." He looked down at the floor and he frowned when he saw my bat, still clenched tightly in my hand. "Ready to knock me out, Moody?"

I glanced down at the bat and stared at Juice. "You were knocking on my door hard enough to tear it off the hinges."

He nodded and looked inside. "What are you doing so late?" He asked, moving forward to come inside. I tried to stand my ground, remembering what Valerie had said about being wary around SAMCRO. But Juice raised his arm and pushed me out of the way gently, making his own way inside. I glared at the back of his head and closed and locked the door.

Juice didn't wait for me to tell him what I was doing; he went straight for the kitchen and stared at all the ingredients on the island counter. "What's all that supposed to be?"

"I get insomnia sometimes so I decided to make something special for tomorrow." I replied. Juice peered at the pile of stuff on the counter and he grabbed the bag of marshmallows. He turned back to me with a raised eyebrow. "They're s'mores cupcakes."

"That's a thing?" Juice asked, putting the marshmallows back down. I nodded. Juice looked like he was going to say something else but he was trying to hold himself back. I moved around him and began to unwrap graham crackers, constantly aware of Juice's presence. Finally he took a step forward and snapped his fingers under my face. "Do you need help?"

I looked back down at everything on the counter. The recipe that my mom had taught me had a lot of ingredients and it was really time consuming when it was done alone. I nodded. "Yeah, I could use some muscle." Juice grinned widely. I threw a pack of graham crackers at him. "Unwrap these and toss them in the blender."

"The blender?" Juice repeated with uncertainty. I nodded handing him the rest of the crackers. Juice still looked uncertain but obeyed anyway, walking slowly to the blender as if he was waiting for me to come to my senses and tell him otherwise. The whirring sound of the blender told me that Juice was doing his part, and then there was a loud yelp that made m turn around to see Juice fighting with the blender, graham cracker crumbs flying into his face.

I unplugged the blender and it stopped. Juice looked at me with alarm in his dark eyes and I couldn't help but laugh. "You have to put the lid on before you turn it on." I said. Juice looked hurt and I immediately backtracked. "It's a common mistake. Don't worry about it; it took four whole times of that happening to me for me to get it." Juice cracked a smile at that and added more graham crackers, this time making sure to put the lid on.

While Juice was wrangling the blender, I got the tray ready with cupcake liners and then I melted some butter. Juice had finished with his task by this point and had come back over with the graham cracker crumbs. "What now?" He asked, looking eager to continue.

I poured the melted butter and some sugar into the crumbs and handed him a spatula to stir them. Once he finished, I started scooping the crumbs into the liners. "Could you preheat the oven, please?" I asked.

"Sure," Juice said, doing as I asked. When he finished, he took the try from me and stuck it in the oven, the crumbs now lining the bottom of the tray. "So, Miss Moody," Juice said slowly. I glanced up at him. "What's your story?"

I chuckled. "I thought SAMCRO knew that by now,"

Juice shrugged. "We know that you're letting us use your basement whenever we need it. We know that your baking is top notch. And we know that you're sort of pissed off with us right now. But that's it, no personal information whatsoever."

"So the club wants personal information now?" I asked, whisking the dry ingredients together.

"No, _I_ want the personal information," Juice said. I stopped whisking and looked up at him. He didn't look like he was kidding, in fact this was probably the most serious I had seen him.

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked, finishing the dry ingredients.

Juice furrowed his brow. "Um, let's start with why you moved back here?" I told him about Uncle Vince's will and how I was broke from college. Juice listened nodding, that is he was until I asked him to add eggs to the mix. "I'm not getting off easy, am I?" He took the eggs from me and cracked them clumsily.

"You came here to help," I said. "So that's what you're doing. Next question," I took the bowl from him and added buttermilk and warm coffee.

"When did you make coffee?" Juice asked.

I laughed "While you were getting attacked by graham crackers," Juice snorted but had a small smile on his face. "You're wasting our questions, you know?"

"I wasn't aware there was a limit!" Juice said, laughing. I pushed the bowl back to him, telling him that it was his turn to add an ingredient. He grabbed the closest thing to him (vegetable oil) and poured in the right amount. I followed up by adding vanilla extract and I took it over to the big mixer in the corner and started to mix it. Juice followed me closely.

"Okay, here's another one," Juice said. "Where in the hell did you learn to bake like this?"

"Well, I spent most of my childhood in this kitchen," I said, keeping an eye on the mixer. "And my mom really started to teach me after we moved away. So I guess it's always been around."

Juice smirked. "When Clay, Tig, and Chibs came back from here the first day, Clay said that he remembered you when you were really little. He said that whenever he went in to talk to Vince, he'd always see you and your family here."

I tried to remember ever seeing Clay here, but nothing came back. "If he did, then I don't remember." The oven beeped and I hurried to get the graham cracker bases out of the oven. "Could you get that off the mixer?"

We let the bases cool before I taught Juice how to scoop the batter into the liners. "It's really liquidy," Juice said as he poured a spoonful of batter into the liner. He was laughing, which ended up making me laugh, even though the most amusing thing going on was Juice scooping batter. Once it was all in, he licked his finger clean, casing me to make him wash his hands again. "Do we put them in the oven now?"

"Hold on," I said, placing mini marshmallows into the liners with the batter. Juice looked delighted at this.

"So there's gonna be a marshmallow _inside _it?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's something I added," I said, smiling at his reaction. After we put them in the oven Juice made a move to sit down but I quickly pulled him back up. "You can't bail out now! I told you I needed your muscles."

"There's more?"

"You got it. There's a marshmallow frosting we have to make!"

"That requires muscle?"

"It has to be stirred for eight minutes straight, so yeah, your muscles are needed!"

I mixed the ingredients together on placed the pot they were in on the stove. Then I set Juice with the handheld mixer onto the frosting mix. He looked back at me. "I still want to know stuff!"

"Then keep asking," I said, popping an extra marshmallow into my mouth. Juice screwed up his face, making it look like he was trying extra hard to think of another question.

"Um, your favorite color?"

"Purple; and you're spilling frosting!" I said. Juice had been allowing some of the frosting to spill out of the bowl, but he corrected himself by spinning the bowl whenever the frosting got too close to the edge. He turned to look over his shoulder at me and gave a proud grin.

"I'm wearing purple," He said, turning his body around so that I could look at his shirt under the leather vest. Sure enough, he had a purple T-shirt on. "This is why we should get together, you know?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Because your wearing my favorite color?"

Juice bobbed his head from side to side. "People have hooked up for worse reasons. Just look at Tig; he'll hook up with any girl who looks at him in a seductive way."

"I didn't want that picture in my head," I said. Juice laughed. The frosting was done and the beeping oven let us know that the cupcakes were ready. Juice abandoned the frosting to save the cupcakes, and I put the frosting into a piping bag.

"We gotta let these cool before we let them out, right?" Juice asked.

"You're learning about baking!" I said, happy that I wouldn't have to hit him again. Juice looked proud of himself and he leaned down to look at the cupcakes at eye level. "Thanks for helping," I said. He smiled to himself and glanced at me.

"How about another question?" He asked, turning to look at me. I nodded. Juice straightened up. "There's this dinner thing at Clay and Gemma's tomorrow. Would you feel up to coming?"

I frowned at him, the smile that had been on my face now gone. "Do you really think your club would be okay with that?"

Juice shrugged. "I don't know. I know that Tig and Chibs like you, so they'd be just fine with letting you come. In the end, it'd be Clay who gets the say so in whether you show up or not."

I shuffled my feet, feeling put on the spot. Juice must've noticed my reaction, cause he backtracked. "You don't have to. It's just that Clay feels like he owes your uncle that; a place where you can have a family."

A place where I could have a family? My parents were living in Anaheim; they hadn't wanted to come back to Charming, and they had practically fought against me coming back. But I had convinced them that I'd work in Uncle Vince's restaurant, and then sell it once I had plenty of money to pay of my college debt. And as for the restaurant employees, I hardly knew most of them. Valerie and Shelly were friends, but they weren't close enough to be considered family. And here Juice was, offering me a place in his motorcycle family.

"I don't think I'll be able to go to this one," I said finally. Juice deflated a bit, and I continued. "You all practically just met me; I don't want for anyone to feel like I'm stepping on their toes. Give it time, Juice, maybe I'll come to the next one."

"I'm gonna hold you on that one," Juice said immediately. He looked back down to the cupcakes. "Now let's frost these things before I leave." I laughed a bit and finished piping the frosting onto the cupcakes. Once they were finished, Juice reached out for one.

Instead of slapping him, I grabbed his hand and pushed it away. "Not yet!"

Juice gave me a fake-frustrated look. "Are you serious? What now?"

I disappeared into the pantry, anxious to see the look on Juice's face when I pulled out the final step in making s'mores cupcakes. I left the pantry, holding a small blowtorch in my hands. Juice's face went from surprise to pure delight. "Aw shit! We get to set them on fire?"

"We get to burn them just a little," I said, Juice still had his look of glee on his face and I laughed, the sight of it making me feel giddy. I held the blowtorch up to one of the cupcakes and pushed the button carefully. The little blue flame shot out and turned the bright white frosting a light brown. I turned the cupcake around, making sure to get all the sides.

"This is awesome," Juice said happily as I handed him the blowtorch. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Calm down there, bud," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder to make him stop bouncing. "Don't burn down the place."

Juice didn't want to stop torching the cupcakes, so I let him do the rest. He got overenthusiastic on one and accidentally set the wrapping on fire. I quickly put it out: Juice looked like he was having too much fun. And at last, he cupcakes looked completely ready and awesome. Juice took a step back, the blowtorch sitting on the counter.

"I should be a chef!" Juice said happily. I laughed and picked up one. I held it out and waved it a little under his nose. Juice's eyes flashed and he swiftly took it from me and chopped into it. His eyes rolled back as he chewed the fresh cupcake. "This is literally the best thing ever." He had a bit of marshmallow frosting on his lip. But then he got a mischievous look in his dark eyes and practically forced the cupcake under my nose.

I laughed and took it from him, allowing myself to take a bite. Now I could feel that I had frosting on my top lip. Juice looked at it, having licked his own frosting mustache off. "Would it get weird if I got that off for you?"

"If I'm right about how exactly you want to get it off, then yeah, it would be. Please don't lick my face." I said, using my thumb to get it off. Juice smirked and laughed a bit. He took the half-eaten cupcake from me and bit into it again.

"I'm bwingin' this wif me," He said through a mouthful of cupcake.

"Go ahead," I said, packing up the rest of the cupcakes for tomorrow. Juice finished the rest of his snack and wiped his finger through the frosting bowl.

"When you come to the clubhouse, you need to make some more of these," Juice said, licking his finger once more.

"_When _I come to the clubhouse?"

"Oh yeah, you may not be coming tomorrow, but one day you'll be invited to hang out with us during a party. And believe me, we throw awesome parties: better than any you've ever been to."

"Really? I have been to college parties, you know?"

Juice laughed. "Oh, Moody, you will eat those words." And with that, he bid me goodnight and left the kitchen, heading for the front door. I heard it unlock and open and close again. And after all of that, there was the sound of Juice's motorcycle driving away.


	6. 6: Gemma Morrow

Everyone who came into the restaurant the next day absolutely loved the cupcakes that Juice and I had made. Valerie and Shelly had been amazed when they came into work to see me with what looked like a small army of pastries. I told them about my insomnia and that I baked the, but left out the fact that Juice had come over around midnight for no reason other than he saw my light. Shelly would've looked terrified and Valerie would warn me countless times throughout the day that I should be wary of SAMCRO, especially the ones that decide on a whim to come and visit me.

About two days went by without any word from SAMCRO when I was listening to a kid begging his mother to let him go to a place called Fun Town. I was standing behind the bar with Shelly, wiping down glasses and pretending not to be eavesdropping.

"So Fun Town is still open?" I asked Shelly.

"Oh yes, they've changed their schedule around so that it's open a few weeks spring through fall." Shelly said.

"I remember when it was open all summer," I said. "When was the last time you went?"

"Just last night; I went with my sister and her son." She said. "But some poor little girl got attacked." She glanced around before dropping her voice to a whisper. "She was found in the woods, beaten and-and raped!"

I stared at her. "Seriously? Poor girl; how old was she?"

"I think she was thirteen, they said,"

"Jesus Christ," I stopped washing glasses as someone new entered the place. "Hello," I said, giving her a smile that I hoped would, in Shelly's words, "make the customer feel like they're at home".

The woman was probably around the same age as Shelly, maybe a little younger. She had an air around her that screamed badass, and she was wearing almost all black. Her hair was naturally brown but had blond highlights. She gave me a small smile that looked like she knew a juicy secret. "I'm looking for the owner,"

"That's me," I said. I held out my hand, offering to shake her hand. She took it and squeezed my hand tightly before giving it one firm shake. "I'm Suzanne Moody,"

"I already know that, dear," She said. I frowned at her. "We spoke on the phone a few weeks ago, do you remember?"

The only phone call I could really remember making was the one to Clay about the basement. "You said your name was...Gemma? Right?" I asked. She smiled that smile again and nodded. "Good. It's nice to finally meet you."

"I'd like to talk to you, Miss Moody." Gemma said. She looked over to Shelly. "Table for two, please?" Shelly nodded and gestured to an empty booth in the corner. She said that a waitress would be with us shortly. Gemma led the way to the booth, leaving me to follow and Shelly giving me terrified looks.

We sat down opposite of one another. Gemma casually picked up a menu and read through it after putting on reading glasses. "I remember when Vince first opened this place. I see that his famous burgers are still on the menu." A waitress walked up to us, throwing me a curious glance. "Water and a salad, please. Suzanne, what do you want?"

"Nothing, I'm good." I said quickly.

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Oh come now. I'll pay for it, just order something."

"Uh, just a Coke, thanks," I said quickly. The waitress left quickly. Gemma eyed me down before talking.

"So, you're keeping Vince's deal, are you?" Gemma asked. "That was wise: right now you may not want us as an ally, but you most certainly do not want SAMCRO as an enemy. And you'll get over your little grudge against us soon enough. Clay deciding to give you time was my idea, by the way, he wanted to continue immediately."

"Well, I'm glad you talked to him then," I said.

"Juice told me that he wanted to invite you to dinner the other night." Gemma said. My stomach did a back-flip. "When I saw him next, he said that he had invited you, against what I had told him, but that you turned it down." She paused and met my eyes. "That was smart too; imagine what would've happened if you did show up."

"I already did when he asked me," I said. "You all barely know me, if I just randomly showed up at your house, it would cause waves."

"Yes it would," Gemma agreed. Our waitress returned with Gemma's food and our drinks. "Thank you, dear," Gemma told her. She hurried away and Gemma turned back to me. "Juice means well, but he's not the brightest. Surely you've noticed this."

I frowned. Sure Juice was slightly clumsy and he didn't really think before speaking, but I wouldn't call him stupid. Gemma watched my expression and she took a bite of her salad. "He's not completely clueless," She said. "He's a genius when it comes to technology."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

Gemma sipped her water and leaned back, making me wait for the answer. "Because it's obvious to everyone at the club that he likes coming here, because of you, most likely, unless he's suddenly got a craving for basic diner food." She paused to have some of her drink and I glared at her, clenching my knees. "I'm just giving you a heads up, and also letting you know that if you rush into the club too fast, you're gonna end up regretting it."

"Believe me," I said, leaning forward. "The last thing I want is to rush headfirst into SAMCRO. I appreciate the warning, and I'll take it into consideration. But right now, I have to get back to running this _basic __diner_." I grabbed my untouched Coke, and left Gemma alone at the booth. The entire time I felt her eyes watching me leave.

* * *

A few mornings later, I had gotten up early to work the morning shift. I decided to try out being a waitress for a while, and our first customer of the day came in. She was an old lady who teetered slowly to an empty table. Becca, a high school junior who worked as a waitress, nodded to the lady, allowing me to try out my skills as a waitress.

"Hello there," I greeted her. The old lady smiled at me and had a funny expression on her face, like she had just seen something hilarious and she was trying to hold in her laughter. "What would you like to drink?"

"A nice glass of iced tea," She replied in a feeble voice. "But I advise you to check outside in the garden area."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why's that?"

"Because there's a half-naked man passed out in the front," She said with that funny look on her face. "I think you should go check on him."

I sighed, "I'm on it, I'll get another waitress to get your drink for you." The lady nodded and smiled at me. I marched to the bar where Becca and Shelly standing, looking confused. "Hey Becca, get her an iced tea, please."

"What happened?" Shelly asked through the kitchen window as I walked into the kitchen to pick up my bat, which I had placed beside the back door.

"Apparently there's a drunk guy laying in the garden." I said. Shelly gasped. "I'll get him out though, don't worry."

I walked out of the restaurant and into the garden area and I stopped short. "You've _got _to be kidding me." I said, finding myself looking at a half-naked Juice sprawled out among the flowers. A cardboard was attached to his chest. It said _Slightly Retarded Child. Please Adopt Me_. I shook my head and nudged his leg with my bat. "Hey-Juice, wake up."

Juice stirred and squinted his eyes. "Oh shit," He grumbled. He stood up, his legs wobbling.

"Did you have too much to drink?" I asked. He shook his head slowly, peering around at where he was. He scratched at his backside, in full view of the window to the restaurant. I could see Shelly, Becca, and the old lady watching while laughing. I rolled my eyes and turned Juice around so that his butt didn't face my employees and customer.

"How'd you know I was out here?" Juice asked in a deep growl that rivaled Clay's.

"An old lady saw you and couldn't stop giggling about it. She said to come out and check you out, make sure you weren't dead."

A slow smirk played onto Juice's lips. "Now that you've checked me out, d'you like it?"

"That's inappropriate," I said shortly, using my bat to herd him to the gate. He looked at it, heading for the exit.

"Were you gonna slugger me?" He asked.

"I _will _if you don't go home now and sober up," I said. He was finally out of the gate but he stopped walking at his turtle-pace and turned to look at me.

"Thanks for waking me up," He said. "I'm late for my eight o'clock feeding."

"Sure," I said, nudging his back with the bat to move along. He finally looked down at the cardboard sign on his chest and tugged at it. I winced when he tore it off; apparently it had been stapled to his chest. Then Juice began to trudge away, holding his sign. I waited until he was at the next street, waiting for the light to change, before going back into the restaurant.

SAMCRO had called while I was dealing with Juice, so I got busy making breakfast for the bikers. Becca wouldn't stop teasing me about the fact that Juice had been passed out on my front step. I got her to stop by asking about the customers out front. And an hour and a half later, Tig and Bobby knocked on the back door and were grinning with glee. Bobby looked highly amused but was containing his stifled laughter.

"Have you found Juice yet?" Tig asked, sitting in his usual spot on the counter.

"Yes I did," I said. Tig and Bobby burst into laughter. Understanding dawned on me and my jaw dropped. "_You _two did that?" Bobby nodded while laughing. Tig's face was red now and he looked like he couldn't breath.

"I wish I could've seen your face, Moody," Tig said, wiping a pretend tear from his eye. "Or _his_ face; I just wish I could've watched."

"Did you have to leave him on my doorstep?" I asked. Bobby and Tig glanced at each other, snickering.

"We felt it was appropriate to leave him with you." Bobby said.

Tig nodded. "Next time he acts like an idiot, we'll just drop him off again." They paid and left, still smirking and laughing about the whole thing. It was funny, I had to admit, though I felt a little awkward knowing that Bobby and Tig thought that my place was the best place for a drunk Juice to go.


	7. 7: The Clubhouse

That night, I got a call on my apartment phone; the caller I.D said it was from the Teller-Morrow Auto Shop. I inhaled deeply before answering, knowing somehow that they wouldn't be calling for food this time. "Hello?" I answered, forcing my voice not to shake.

"Moody," It was Tig's voice, and it sounded urgent. "We need that basement of yours for a while."

"Why?" I asked without thinking.

"The ATF is in town and our guns are in trouble," Tig replied fast. "But due to the lateness of night, we can't come to you. You have to come to us."

I didn't answer right away, my voice caught in my throat. I could hear Tig on the other end talking to someone else over on his end. I cleared my throat. "What's the address of the auto shop?" Tig recited it for me and said I should get there soon. I hung up and buried my face in my hands, trying to slow down the pounding in my chest.

"Guns?" I said to myself. "Well, thank God it wasn't a body." And with that forcefully positive thought, I threw on jeans, a t-shirt, my converse, and a hoodie before exiting to the fire escape that was my front door. The Buick stuttered before starting, telling me that I probably needed to get it checked out.

Teller-Morrow's was much bigger than I thought it would be. And it looked to be made up of three large buildings. One was the actual auto shop, one looked like an office for the auto shop, and the last had the Sons of Anarchy logo on it and the word "clubhouse" underneath it. The lot was full of motorcycles and black cars and vans. As I parked next to a large black van with tinted windows, I thought grimly that my old car fit in pretty well.

Right when I got out of my car, Chibs was walking towards me. He nodded and stopped in front of me, looking a bit flustered and tired. "Thanks for coming on short notice, Moody. I'll take you to where the guns are." I nodded and he began to walk away, leaving me to hurry up behind him. But then Chibs stopped short and glanced back at me. "You don't have to walk behind me, ya know? You're welcome here."

Thinking back on my meeting with Gemma, I muttered, "I wouldn't go that far."

Chibs gave me a serious look and stopped walking towards the clubhouse. "Don't go feelin' intimidated, lass. Clay told us that you're welcome here whenever you want to come by. So stop being so insecure 'round here." He started walking again and I hurried after him, feeling like he had just laid down the welcome mat and, at the same time, degraded me about being nervous about them. But I did as he advised and walked beside him.

The inside of the clubhouse looked like a bar to me. Couches, comfy chairs, and ordinary furniture was all over the main room but there was also a long bar that was covered in empty peanut shells and a stripper pole. A hallway led farther into the clubhouse and a large set of double doors was just off the main room. The room was pretty much abandoned except for a random girl wiping down the bar, trying to dust off the peanut shells. Chibs caught me looking and leaned down to my ear, "That's a crow-eater, that one."

"A crow-eater?" I repeated, having no clue about biker slang.

"A girl who sleeps around with members of the club," Chibs explained. "She's one of Tig's." My eyes widened and he chuckled, shaking his head.

The large double doors opened and Clay entered the main room with Jax and Tig. I risked a glance at the crow-eater at the bar. She stopped cleaning the bar and tried to make eye contact with Tig by whipping her hair over her shoulder. Tig completely ignored her or he didn't see her. Instead he came up to me and gave me a brief hug, to which I stiffened without meaning to.

"Good to see you too, Moody," Tig said with false bitterness. He winked at me to let me know that he was kidding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the crow-eater glare at both Tig and me.

Jax was less forward and he offered me to shake his hand, which I took. "Thanks for coming out here; Tig thought you had been asleep, he said you sounded like it on the phone."

I shook my head. "No, I was awake. Insomnia has been a problem for me."

Jax tilted his head a bit, looking thoughtful. "Juice mentioned insomnia." Clay took a step forward, cutting off what Jax was saying.

"We'll take your car back to the restaurant and drop off load by load." Clay said quickly. "You have the keys on you?"

"Um, yeah," I said, pulling the keys from my pocket and holding them out for him. "Why did you need my car for this, though?"

"Our vans are too obvious in the chance that someone sees," Clay explained. "Your windows are tinted and that alley behind the place has good coverage, so no one will be able to see us there."

I really didn't like the plan, but I was under the gaze of four intimidating men, so I went ahead and gave Clay my keys. Clay grabbed Jax and Tig to go start moving guns and Chibs disappeared to find Bobby. The crow-eater at the bar kept giving me mean looks so I started for a couch to sit down. Bobby entered the room, saw where I was heading, and spoke up, "I wouldn't sit there. Tig had a crow-eater there last night."

I jumped away from the couch as Bobby went outside. I then moved for the pool table, hoping I could lean against that. But Chibs entered and said, chuckling, "Don't sit there either: Bobby had someone there."

"Is there a place in this room where no one has had sex on it?" I asked him.

Chibs laughed again. "If there is, I haven't found it yet." He left the clubhouse, following his companions. I stared after him, not knowing what to do with myself now. The crow-eater gave up trying to clean the mess and had retreated into the back hallway, giving me a cruel smile. She was obviously enjoying my discomfort. I stood alone in the room. From outside the clubhouse, I could see Clay, Jax, Tig, Bobby, and Chibs moving back and forth carting boxes.

"Do you want anything?"

I jumped in fright as Juice's voice came from behind me. I spun around to see him standing in the opening of the hallway, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. He was barefoot, holding a laptop, and looking at me curiously.

"Sorry?" I asked, getting over the fright he had just given me.

Juice nodded to the bar. "Do you want anything from the bar? You might be here a while: we have lots of guns." He walked over to the bar before I could answer and set his laptop down on a clean space. "We should have lots of stuff. But I don't know who went to the store last, so we could have nothing."

I made my way closer to him as he began searching a fridge. He pulled out two beers and set them in front of me. "There we go." He popped the tops with his bare hands and nudged one closer to me. "C'mon, Moody, have a cold one."

I took the beer and sipped it. It wasn't the best one I had ever had, but it burned softly in my throat. Juice came back around the bar and sat down in front of his laptop. He took a swig from his beer and typed something at lightning speed. I raised my eyebrows.

"What're you doing?" I asked, watching in amazement at the speed he was going. Juice didn't answer me right away, instead, he finished typing and pointed at a box full of codes.

"I'm hacking into the police station," He said simply. He pulled another page up and double-clicked a tab and somehow got to where he needed to type something else as fast as humanly possible. A box popped up and a video began playing. Juice leaned forward, watching the footage from the police station with an intensity that reminded me of what Gemma had said about him being a computer genius.

Looking over his shoulder, all I could tell from the footage was that some woman was organizing a desk that I was assuming was hers now. "Is she with the ATF?" I asked. Juice nodded.

"Yeah, Clay's having me keep an eye on her." He said. "Make sure that she doesn't do anything fishy."

"I didn't know you knew how to do this," I said.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Juice replied. At first I thought he was trying to flirt with me again, but he said it so seriously that I pretty much had to do a double take. Juice risked a glance away from the computer screen to give me an amused look. "Don't act so surprised, Moody."

"Sorry," I said.

Juice smiled while staring at the computer. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at me again and smirked. "You're wearing purple." I looked down at my hoodie which was, indeed purple.

"Good eye," I said. Juice smiled to himself and the door to the clubhouse opened and Chibs and Jax entered.

"Clay, Bobby, and Tig are taking the first load of guns to your place," Jax told me. "Then we have only a few more to get there, and someone will take you home." He added the last part of that sentence, looking down at the beer in my hand. Jax turned his attention to Juice, who was still watching the woman in the police station. "Good job making her feel comfortable, Juice."

"All in a days work," Juice said. Chibs went behind the counter and pulled out a fresh bag of peanuts.

"How're we lookin' on the ATF?" Jax asked. Juice said that so far she wasn't doing anything fishy. Chibs ripped open the bag of peanuts badly and some spilled onto the floor. He ignored them and grabbed a handful of peanuts before pushing the bag towards me. I grabbed some and cracked them open with my teeth. Jax took a handful from the bag and walked back outside, probably to wait on Clay and the others to come back.

I hung out at the clubhouse for about an hour as the men took two trips to put all their illegal guns in the basement. Chibs made I his duty to try and keep me entertained, and it mostly boiled down to him telling me about SAMCRO and the slang that came with it. Juice would give his opinion every now and then from his laptop. I finished my beer right before Clay entered the clubhouse, saying that I could go home now.

"Get someone to drive her," Jax said, entering behind him. "She's had a beer." To prove it, Juice tore his eyes from the screen to pick up my empty beer bottle and he held it up the rest of the club to see. Tig and Bobby entered the clubhouse and pulled their own beers from the fridge.

Clay nodded. "Fine; someone needs to take her home."

"I'll do it," Juice said, looking away from his laptop for a second but Clay shook his head.

"You've got a job to do,"

Chibs cracked open a handful of peanuts. "Then I'll go." He threw the fresh peanuts into his mouth and swallowed them with barely chewing them. "C'mon, Moody," He walked away from the bar, heading for the door. I bid goodbye to the rest of the club and went after him. Chibs was waiting for me by the door.

I got into the passenger seat and Chibs plopped down into the driver's seat. He turned the key and the car sputtered to life. When it finally started, Chibs looked over at me. "You should get this fixed here. Clay would probably give you half off."

"It's been doing that for a while now," I said as Chibs pulled out of the lot. Soon into the drive, he tried to turn on the radio. I glanced at him nervously as he realized that my radio was broken too. "That's been busted for a while too,"

Chibs threw me a dirty look. "Come in to the shop this week. That's no longer a suggestion; it's an order." He jabbed the radio dial one more time, clearly frustrated with my lack of desire to fix my car.

We parked in the alley behind Moody's, where the fire escape entrance was to my apartment. I glanced around, suddenly realizing a flaw in the plan of Chibs dropping me off. "Um, Chibs? How're you getting home?"

"I'll make my way back." He said curtly. "Don't worry 'bout it, just get upstairs." He tossed me my keys. "And I'm serious 'bout your car here. If you don't come in by the end of week, I 'ave no problem coming up here to tow it back to the shop."

"No need for that," I said quickly. Chibs nodded with a smug smile and began to walk away. I felt like I should say something. "Hey, Chibs!" His shadow turned around to look at me. "Thanks for the lift."

I could see Chibs nodding at me before heading out. I waited until he left the alley before climbing back up into my apartment.


	8. 8: Into The Jungle

I drummed my fingers against the bar nervously. Shelly had stopped asking what was wrong and was now just throwing me nervous glances every now and then. I made it look like I was working by pouring drinks whenever they were ordered but other than that, I was keeping an eye on her.

The ATF agent that Juice had been ordered to watch had been coming into Moody's for about a week now. She always came for lunch, sometimes dinner too. She was always with one of her agent friends, and what was even weirder was that she ordered the same meal every time she walked in here. I kept telling myself that she couldn't possibly know about the guns in my basement, but I was getting more and more nervous every time I saw her smug face walk in.

I walked into my office and locked the door behind me. Grabbing my cell phone, I flipped the bookcase switch and went down into the basement. The cement room had stacks of crates that were filled with the guns. This was probably the fourteenth time today alone that I had wandered down here to make sure that nothing had been touched. I quickly dialed the number for Teller-Morrow; it was time that they knew about the agent coming here almost everyday.

The phone rang six times before it was answered by a familiar voice. "Teller-Morrow," Half-Sack's voice said from the other end.

"Put Clay on the phone," I said. "It's Moody,"

"Um, hold on, Suzy," Half-Sack said. There was a loud rustle that let me know that he set the phone down. I was waiting for about ten minutes when Clay's voice answered.

"That ATF agent that you had Juice watch the night I was at the clubhouse," I said quickly. "She's been coming here every day for the past week."

"Jesus Christ," Clay growled. "Is there any way she could know about the guns?"

"Not that I know about," I said. "How long will these things stay here?"

There was a pause. "I'll check on some contacts and see what I can do. But until then, you've gotta keep your head and give her no reason to suspect you. Treat her like any normal customer."

I snorted. "Yeah, a customer that can have me arrested."

"Just hang in there," Clay said. "I'll send someone over and you'll talk to them."

I paced back and forth. "Fine," And I hung up and headed back up to my office with one last glance at the crates of guns. About an hour later, someone banged on my back door. I beat Russ to the door and opened it to see Chibs standing there, wearing the gray button-up shirt that had the Teller-Morrow company name on it.

Chibs nodded at me and gave me a friendly smile. "I thought I told you that I'd take your car if you didn't bring it in."

I stared at him. "What? Did you even talk to Clay?"

"'Course I did. He said to put Valerie in charge for the day: you're taking an absence so that you can have a meeting." Chibs said before turning away to hook up the tow truck to my Buick. I rushed back inside the restaurant and told Valerie that she was in charge until I came back.

"Where are you going?" She asked with suspicion.

"A meeting," I told her vaguely. With that, I walked out into the alley. Chibs had finished with the Buick and was waiting for me by the passenger door. He lit a cigarette as he looked up at me and he opened the passenger door before walking away to the driver's side. I got into the open door and Chibs pulled out of the alley. But as we began to pull out, I saw the agent getting into her black, federal government car. She met my eyes as Chibs merged into traffic and we began to leave her behind.

Teller-Morrow was busy when Chibs and I pulled into the lot. I saw bikers that I didn't even recognize along with dozens of crow-eaters. Chibs parked the tow truck and grunted, "C'mon,"

As I exited the truck, a few of the crow-eaters spotted me and I recognized the one who was apparently with Tig. They began to whisper to one another and they erupted into giggles. I turned away, trying not to let their opinions of me change my agenda today. Chibs had seen my reaction. "Don't let 'em get to ya, Moody. You're worth more than all of 'em."

I stared at him. "You really think that?"

"No; but I had to make ya feel better somehow, right?" Chibs said, cracking a smile and winking, letting me know that he was joking. I laughed shortly as he called some mechanic over to the truck. "Miss Moody, this is Lowell. He's gonna be takin' care of your shit car."

"Don't go hating on my car." I said.

Lowell smiled at me kindly and shook my hand. "It should be running in about an hour, maybe two. Chibs wants your radio fixed too."

"Damn right," Chibs said. "Now c'mon, Miss Moody, let's go find Clay." We left Lowell with the Buick and Chibs and I walked side by side to the clubhouse. I made sure not to fall behind him, remembering last time. We passed the group of crow-eaters and they glared at me up and down and some even turned their noses up at me. Chibs grabbed my elbow and pulled me along with him faster.

The clubhouse had a few more crow-eaters in it today and there were some more bikers I didn't recognize. One of the crow-eaters walked past Chibs and me but stopped short. "You got a new one?" She asked.

My face turned red at what this girl was implying but thankfully I didn't have to say anything because Chibs beat me to it. "This is a business partner, ya dumb blond bitch! Now move along and keep your sculpted nose out of what it doesn't belong in." The girl rushed off, looking scared. I held back my laughter as Chibs led me into the set of double doors.

The room was decked out with SAMCRO. The table in the center had the logo carved expertly into the center. "Wait here," Chibs said. "I'll tell Clay you're here." He shut the doors on me. I stood in the room, not wanting to sit. One of the things Chibs had told me about their life was that every member had a certain place and weren't allowed to sit anywhere else. I really didn't want to get caught taking someone's space.

Clay came in with Tig and Jax. All three of them greeted me and, once again, Tig gave me a hug which I was a bit more prepared for. "Ah, you're learning!" He said as he took the seat on Clay's right. Clay sat at the head of the table and Jax sat on his other side.

"Suzanne, you can sit by Tig," Clay said. I did as I was told and Clay lit a cigar. "The agent you keep seeing at your restaurant is named Stahl. And although so far she hasn't come up with anything, we have a source that says that she's determined to bury the club." He paused, apparently waiting for me to absorb all of this. I nodded for him to go on. "I've reached out to one of the Sons of Anarchy charters in Nevada. They said they'd be willing to take the guns off our hands for a while."

"We can come get the guns out of your place tonight around midnight." Jax said. "Two of us will come and take them in a truck while the rest of us leave earlier. If you can be ready for the two at midnight, then we can get the guns out of your hair, and Stahl won't be a problem for you."

"Sounds good," I said. Jax nodded and Tig remained silent but gave me a nice look. Clay eyed me down before speaking.

"We appreciate what you've done so far, Suzanne," Clay said. "Think of yourself as welcome to come back here whenever you deem fit. It's what your uncle would've wanted, and considering your lack of blood up here, it's what I think is right."

I smiled at Clay. "Thank you,"

"Chibs said that you're car won't be ready for about two hours so you can go ahead and get comfortable here," Tig said. They all stood up and Clay led the way out of the room with Tig close behind him. I began to leave when Jax stopped me.

"Make yourself comfortable, Suzanne," Jax said. "If anyone gives you any grief, just come find any of the guys and we'll straighten it out."

I was taken aback by the kindness. "Thanks again." Jax walked off, and I allowed myself to sit down on the couch without caring who had been here before getting lucky.

The other bikers were no where to be seen but only two of the crow-eaters from earlier remained. They were collecting beer bottles from the various places around the room and were trying to make the place a bit more cleaner than normal. One of them was the blond girl who had thought that I was Chibs's new girl. She looked over at me but turned away immediately. The other crow-eater had an armful of beer bottles and was returning to the bar.

There was about three bottles right next to me. The dark haired crow-eater didn't seem to notice them. I picked up the bottles and walked over to the bar. The blond crow-eater watched me carefully as I approached them and placed the bottles right next to the ones they had collected.

"We were supposed to get those," The dark-haired one snapped.

"You're complaining that I'm helping you straighten up?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The dark-haired girl stiffened and glared at me, not able to come up with a reason. The blond one rolled her eyes at the other girl and she stuck out her hand for me to shake.

"Sorry about her; she's on the rag. I'm Kristy, by the way, and that's Naomi." She said.

"Suzanne, but some of the guys around here call me Moody." I said as I shook her hand.

"I've heard the name Moody around here," Kristy said. "Yeah, I think I heard Juice talking about you to Gemma last week."

I huffed. "That's not surprising. Do you guys need any help around here?" I asked, looking around the place, which just as dirty as the last time I was here. Kristy and Naomi glanced at each other before Naomi silently handed me a rag and a bottle of cleaning spray. Kristy then sent me to go wipe down some of tables.

Kristy and Naomi seemed okay, they didn't really talk to me as I helped. I was just about finished with the tables when Half-Sack and Juice walked in from outside. "Suzy!" Half-Sack greeted me and he came over to give me a hug. Kristy and Naomi silenced their conversation to listen.

"What are you doing, Moody?" Juice asked, looking down at the cleaning supplies in my hands.

"Chibs abducted my car and I had to come here anyway to talk to Clay." I said. "So now I'm here until the car is fixed. I thought I'd make myself useful while I was stuck here."

"D'you need a ride back to your place?" Half-Sack asked. "If you don't want to wait for the car, someone can just give you a ride back."

I blinked at him. "You'd do that?"

Juice took a step forward. "Yeah, I'll go tell Chibs that I'll take you home." Before Half-Sack and I could say anything else, Juice walked back out the door and into the sun. Half-Sack and I looked at each other, and Kristy and Naomi went back to their work, mumbling about something.

"Well, it looks like Juice will be giving you a ride soon." Half-Sack said. "Let's go outside." I quickly gave Kristy and Naomi the cleaning supplies back, to which they both told me thanks for helping. Then I walked with Half-Sack outside, where the garage looked pretty busy. I caught a glimpse of the Buick sitting in the garage with Lowell and Chibs looking under the hood. But then I heard the rumble of a motorcycle pulling up and Juice pulled up on his bike.

Half-Sack and I got closer as Juice took off his helmet and handed it to me. "I told Clay that I'm taking you back to the restaurant, let's go!" I said bye to Half-Sack as I put the helmet on. He said bye as well and wandered off. Juice gave me a friendly grin and moved up some on the bike.

At first I was a little timid about the bike. I carefully swung my leg around to the other side, almost kicking Juice in the process. When I was finally on, Juice was shaking with silent laughter. "Have you never been on a bike before?" He asked.

I felt my face heat up. "No; it's never come up."

"Well hold on," Juice said, putting sunglasses on. I quickly moved closer and held on to him. The motorcycle lurched forward and I nearly yelped as it rushed forward out of the lot. I could barely hear Juice laughing at me and I was only sure he was doing this because I was holding onto him tight enough to feel anytime his body moved.

I wasn't sure if I liked the feeling of riding on a motorcycle. I loved the speed of it and the sound itself was fantastic to me. But I think it was the fact that I was completely unused to the openness of it all. We came up to a stoplight and the bike slowed itself and Juice placed his feet down on either side to stop it. He glanced over his shoulder at me, a smug look on his face.

"Having fun yet?" He asked. I loosened my grip on him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Can't decide yet," I told him. Juice made an amused noise from the back of his throat and shook his head. I glanced at the black car that pulled up next to us but didn't pay it any mind. The light turned green and I instantly wrapped my arms around Juice's torso again, and he made it lurch off again. It wasn't long until we reached the restaurant. Juice pulled into the alley, every turn he made cause me to hold on even tighter.

Juice held the bike steady as I struggled to get off. Once my feet were on the ground, I removed the helmet and handed it back to Juice. He put it immediately on his head. "Well, if I get picked for the truck run to Nevada, then I'll see you again tonight."

"I'm thinking that I'll get some food ready for whoever's in the truck," I said. "A truck ride to Nevada sounds torturous." Juice's eyes flashed.

"In that case, I won't mind getting the truck job." He said. "See you later, Moody!" He removed his feet from the ground and drove off extremely fast. I waved bye with a small smile, before going back inside the restaurant to check how Valerie did being in charge.


	9. 9: Agent Stahl

The restaurant was long closed but the kitchen was brightly lit. There was heat coming from the oven; I was making pot roast sandwiches for whoever showed up in the truck. The oven had just started beeping when there was a knocking on the back door. I quickly opened it and returned to the oven to save the meat. Tig walked in with his nose in the air, smelling the cooked meat.

"That smells fantastic, Moody," Tig said.

"Thanks, Tig," I said, as Tig leaned heavily against the counter. Juice followed Tig and gave me smile, but was giving Tig a nervous look. I quickly caught on. "What happened now?"

Tig shot Juice a vicious look. "This idiot got me bitten by a Doberman."

"How'd he do that?" I asked with a pointed look at Juice. Juice became fascinated with the floor and refused to look up from it.

"He fed a Doberman _two grams _of crystal!" Tig said, pointing an accusing finger at Juice. I stared at him while Juice shuffled his feet.

"Where did you even get two grams of-" I cut myself off. "Nevermind, I don't want to know." I finished, holding up my hands. I started for my office. "Let me point you guys in the direction of the guns, and you can be on your way." I brought them into the office and opened the secret door for them. Juice went in right away to get a crate, but Tig made his way much more slowly. "Do you need anything, Tig?" I asked.

Tig gave me a look and for a moment it seemed like he would ask for help. But instead, he shook his head. "Thanks but no thanks, Moody. If you've got a first aid kit, though, that'd be great." I told him to sit down in a chair and I got the first aid kit from a drawer in my office.

"You can take that into the bathroom," I said, handing him the kit. Tig nodded and said thanks. At that moment, Juice came back up the stairs, carrying a heavy crate of guns. He took in the scene of Tig and I sitting down and he let out a frustrated sound.

"Oh, so he gets to take a break?" Juice asked.

"You got him bit by a dog so, yeah, he gets to sit for a second." I said sharply. Juice rolled his eyes but left anyway, taking the crate to the truck. I looked back at Tig. "You're not mending yourself in here so go into the bathroom, fix as much as you can now."

Tig smirked at me. "Well, look who's giving orders." He snorted and limped out of my office. I went back into the kitchen and began to heat up the bread. Juice came in and left twice more before Tig limped over to help him. Every now and then as I made the sandwiches they would throw a comment my way. But for the most part they did their job and I did mine. The pot roast sandwiches were finished by the time they were ready to leave.

"There you go, Miss Moody," Tig said. "Those guns are out of your hair for a while now." He took the bag of the sandwiches, gave me a brief hug like normal, and walked away to the truck.

Juice smiled widely at me as he left. "See ya later, Moody!" He yelled, getting into the drive's seat. The truck pulled away and I waved goodbye once again.

* * *

The next day at lunchtime, Agent Stahl came in again. I didn't allow it to bother me today. There was nothing in my restaurant that she could peg on me. Stahl ordered and ate her food, but after she paid for her meal, she told her waitress that she wanted to speak to the owner. As I approached Stahl's table, her agent friend left the restaurant. I sat down at Stahl's booth.

"Hello, Miss Moody, I'm Agent Stahl of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The ATF, if you will."

"Nice to meet you, agent," I said, shaking her hand. "Is there a reason that you wanted to talk to me? Was it the food?"

Stahl let out a small laugh and shook her head. "Oh no, the food was fabulous. No, the reason I wanted to speak with you is because your uncle, Vince Moody, was considered by almost everyone who knew him to be a very good friend of SAMCRO. I came to see if that relationship works with you as well."

My heart was pounding in my chest. But I kept my blank face. "I wouldn't call myself a friend of theirs. It's more along the lines of I get discounts on all my auto needs." Stahl smirked.

"I happened to see you leaving your restaurant yesterday afternoon with a member of SAMCRO. I didn't realize that Teller-Morrow towed from homes now."

"My car wouldn't start; I needed it to be fixed fast." I said.

Stahl raised an eyebrow. "You see, _that's _understandable. What's not understandable, is that the same day about an hour after you left this place, I happened to see you again but this time, on the back of a different member's motorcycle."

I tilted my head at her. "You _happened _to see me twice in one day? Agent, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that all of these coincidental sightings could be something else." Stahl stared at me, fully absorbing what I was saying.

She leaned forward. "I'm just saying, Miss Moody, that for a new member of this community to get involved with SAMCRO right away, it'll turn a few heads."

Now I leaned forward. "Those heads can turn all they want to. Nothing is happening between myself and SAMCRO. And if there was foul play involved, I think it'd be a little obvious in here, don't you think?"

Stahl held my gaze for a moment before she blinked. "It was nice meeting, you." With that she left me alone at the booth.


	10. 10: Chuck, Cherry, and Warrants

SAMCRO came back home a few days later. The only way I knew they were back was because there had been a deafening rumble on Main Street, and I had gotten to my bedroom window in time to see their herd of motorcycles thunder past. I didn't see the truck that they had used to transport the guns, so I went ahead and assumed that they had left the guns in Nevada with their charter.

Thank God.

A few mornings later, I got woken up by a call from Bobby. So after I hung up, I dragged myself out of bed and got into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and went downstairs to the kitchen. Russ opened the door for me with a glare on his face that completely went away when he saw me. "Oh, Suzanne, it's you. I thought it was those bikers again."

"Yeah, well they're gonna be here in about two hours, so be prepared." I told him, walking past him and inside the kitchen. I heated up the pastry oven and began working on SAMCRO's order. After a while, Valerie came in for work, her brown hair newly highlighted.

"Hi Suzie," She greeted me with a wide smile. I looked up and noticed that she was wearing makeup today. Usually, since she was in the kitchen, she didn't bother with it.

"You look a lot happier today," I noted. "What's the occasion?" Valerie's dark skin turned a bit darker and she gave herself away by glancing over at Russ, who was cooking omelets at the stove. Valerie said that there was no occasion though, and she went on to begin working. I smirked and continued with SAMCRO's order. They came earlier than expected: I was still hadn't prepared for the food to leave with them yet.

Bobby and Tig entered and came straight to me. They were followed by someone who looked completely odd hanging out with them, I stared at him enough to alert the other two and Bobby quickly explained. "That's Chuck, we've got to protect him for the weekend. And then he said he wanted breakfast, so here we are."

Both Bobby and Tig looked slightly annoyed but I didn't question it, just raised my eyebrows at them and began to scoop the muffins into a to-go bag. Chuck was strolling around my kitchen with an air of irritating confidence that made me stop a few times to watch him carefully. Tig saw my growing confusion and frustration with this new guy and brought him back to where he and Bobby were standing.

"This is a huge kitchen, miss," Chuck said.

"Thanks," I said slowly, causing the word to come out sounding like a question. Chuck smiled at me and continued to look around, that is until he caught sight of Valerie. Then he did something that both disgusted and infuriated me.

Chuck shoved one of his hands into his pants and began to masturbate, in my kitchen!

"What the hell?" I yelled. Tig shoved Chuck out into the ally, apologizing the whole way. Tig tried to come back in after Chuck was outside but I kept him out by pushing Bobby out the door with their bag of food. "Get out! You are not bringing that masturbating in back in here."

"What about paying?" Tig asked, looking like he was trying to hold back laughter. Chuck was behind him, and although his back was to me, I could clearly see that he was still doing it. Bobby was at his bike, putting the muffins into a side bag.

"I'll charge you guys when you come back next time." I said. Tig made a move to step forward but I quickly reached over and grabbed my bat. He looked at it for a second before smirking and turning to the tow truck that they had driven here with.

"We'll see you again soon, but next time we'll leave him somewhere else." Bobby said, looking at my baseball bat with an amused expression. "We'll also make sure to pay you for this visit and next times."

"You guys do that," I said shortly. And with that, they put Chuck into the truck and drove away. I went back into the kitchen and quickly began to disinfect anything and everything that Chuck had come in contact with.

* * *

It was a few days later when a girl came walking into the restaurant. When she first walked in, I had to blink several times before getting myself together. The poor girl's face was blotched and bruised and medical tape was bridged on her nose. I had been standing by a customer when the girl went straight over to Shelly.

"Suzy!" Shelly called, looking over at me with wide eyes. "C'mon over here!" I excused myself from the customers and walked over. Shelly gestured to the girl, with an overly sweet smile on her face. "This is, uh, Cherry and she said that she'd like to apply for a job."

"Oh," I said, turning to this girl, Cherry. "Well, I'm Suzanne Moody; I own the place. Would you mind joining me in my office?"

"Not at all," Cherry replied, giving me a smile that looked like it hurt. I led Cherry back into my office, she gazed wide-eyed at the kitchen. Once inside my office, Cherry sat down in one of the chairs and looked rather nervous.

I took my seat. "Have you ever worked in a restaurant before, Cherry?" I asked.

"Well, I guess you could say that I was something of a waitress." Cherry said.

I frowned at her. "Care to elaborate?"

Cherry shifted in her seat. "Look, I'm gonna be one hundred percent honest with you here."

"I do like honestly," I said, leaning back in my seat.

"I just got here from Nevada, and I kinda didn't get the welcome I was hoping for," Cherry trailed off before continuing. "I was with a motorcycle club down in Nevada but I came up here with someone from the Sons of Anarchy. When I got here, I kinda got hit in the face by the queen here and the guy I came here with said to come here 'cause you were a nice lady who would probably give me a job."

I blinked at the end of Cherry's story. "Well then. I'm assuming that you know that I'm friends with the club if one of them told you to come here."

Cherry nodded. "Yeah, he said that you and your uncle were friends, so you'd be more willing to help than others."

"And who told you to come down here?" I asked.

"Uh, Juice," Cherry said. "He said that you were nice and that you'd probably help."

I sighed and opened one of my desk drawers. I pulled out a job application. "I'm not promising you _anything_." I said. Cherry's bashed in face lit up. "What I want you to do is fill this out, you can do that at the bar if you want, and bring it back to me. I'll look it over and see if you are actually qualified to work here and we'll see where this goes. But I'm warning you-if you go blabbing around that SAMCRO sent you here, it could turn a few heads, and I'd prefer it if heads were turned away from me."

"I can do that," Cherry said, her smile still looking pained. I handed her the application and we left my office and into the restaurant. Cherry, very gleefully, went to sit down at the bar by herself and she bent down low over the paper to start it. I exchanged a glance with Shelly and shrugged. Then I noticed Agent Stahl sitting at her regular booth with the deputy sheriff.

I nodded their way. "What's going on over there?" Shelly followed my gaze.

"They came in while you and Cherry were in your office." Shelly dropped her voice and pulled me farther away from anyone. "She was telling him about some raid she's got planned on SAMCRO. All I heard was that they're really close to getting a warrant and they were going to raid it soon."

I widened my eyes at Shelly. "Seriously?" I asked. Shelly nodded. "Why are you telling me this? I thought you hated SAMCRO."

Shelly turned a little red. "I don't hate them, they just scare me a little."

"A little?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Shelly turned even redder. I decided to question Shelly about her sudden allegiance to SAMCRO later. "Nevermind about that. I'll be back; if those agents already have a warrant, they'll be searching the clubhouse soon." Shelly nodded. "Bring Cherry's application to my office when she's finished. Just incase I don't make it back in time."

I hurried through the kitchen and out into the alley, where my Buick was waiting. I drove as fast as I legally could to Teller-Morrow and I whipped into the parking lot, startling a couple of crow-eaters who had been standing nearby. I exited the car and began to speed-walk to the clubhouse, ignoring all the looks I was getting from crow-eaters and actual mechanic employees.

The clubhouse wasn't crowded, there were a few unknown bikers and also Bobby behind the bar. I hurried over to the bar. "Bobby!" I said when I got there. Bobby nearly dropped the glass he had been holding and he looked over to glare at me.

"Jesus Christ, kid." Bobby said. "Why are you here?"

"Stahl's about to get a warrant to search your clubhouse," I said quickly. Bobby stared at me for a long moment before putting his glass down.

"Wait here," He said gruffly before leaving the room to the bedrooms beyond. I began pacing, wondering how long it would take for Stahl to finish her lunch and get a raiding team together. A few minutes later, Clay and Jax entered, followed closely by Bobby and Tig.

"You said that Stahl is getting a warrant?" Jax said as they got close to me. They formed a tight-knit circle with me and I forced myself not to take a step back. I nodded and explained to them everything that Shelly had heard. "And your employee is trustworthy?" Jax asked the second I was done. I assured him that she was. Jax turned to Clay. "We gotta get the guns out of here."

"You could bring them back to my place," I offered without thinking. The men around me raised their eyebrows.

Clay shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but if we're caught in broad daylight it could cause even more trouble for the club." He looked at Jax. "Get in contact with Laroy, see if he'd be willing to take them off our hands." Jax left the group and Clay turned back to me again. "You did good bringing this straight to us. We'll owe you one."

I raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything, just nodded. Clay then advised that I leave before the feds showed up. Tig made sure I got to my car okay and I began to pull out of the lot. I saw Juice walking up to Tig in my rearview mirror right before I turned out. I had only been driving back for about five minutes when a bunch of black SUVs and cop cars passed me, going straight for Teller-Morrow.


	11. 11: Scars

I got a call from Tig a few days after my warning to let me know that everything went good. He told me thanks again and that had been the last thing I had heard from SAMCRO in about a week. I told myself not to worry, but silence coming from SAMCRO was beginning to make me extremely nervous. I was working the breakfast shift (school had started so Becca and a few others couldn't work mornings) when the bell at the door rang and I looked up to see Chibs entering the place.

He took a seat at the bar and grabbed a nearby menu. I couldn't help but stare: it looked so odd to see Chibs in a normal environment. I walked over with a notepad. "Have you decided what you want yet?" I asked.

Chibs glanced up at me with an amused grin. "Five-star service, this place has." He muttered. "Yeah, I'll just take a coffee and breakfast special, please." I jotted it down and added myself a coffee before handing it to Russ through the kitchen window. I walked around the bar and took the seat right next to Chibs. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Could ya get in trouble for not workin'?"

I snorted. "Oh please; I'm the boss." Chibs snorted too and tossed his menu to the side. Shelly came around with two mugs and poured us both our coffees. I was surprised when she gave Chibs a wide smile, even bigger than the one she usually saved for customers. She walked away from us when she was finished with the back of her neck bright red. I stifled a laugh as I figured out that Shelly had a crush on Chibs.

"What's so funny?" Chibs asked, peering at me.

"Nothing," I said, pouring cream and sugar into my coffee. Chibs lowered his mug and shook his head. "What now?" I asked.

"Nothin' except the fact that you're drowning your coffee in sweeteners," Chibs said.

I stirred up my coffee, the black liquid turning pale brown. "Well, I'm sorry if my coffee-drinking habits offend you." I took a drink, the hot liquid burning my mouth in a way that only coffee and tea drinkers really liked. Chibs rolled his eyes and took a swig of his own coffee, not adding any sweeteners to his. We sat there in a comfortable silence for a while, not really taking but enjoying the other's company. I noticed that Shelly kept glancing over at Chibs, and each time I had to force back my laughter.

Chibs's food came out, but before he even touched it, he turned towards me and eyed me down. "Why do I get the feelin' that you've been wantin' to ask me something?"

Dammit, how had he figured it out? I sighed and stared intently at a spot on the counter. "I've been looking through a lot of my uncle's old photos. Most of them are of him with people from SAMCRO, or the people associated with it." I said. Chibs stared at me with a blank face. "The death certificate says that he died because his car exploded. The report says that it was an accident, but what are the odds of your car just malfunctioning and exploding?"

Chibs didn't say anything and took his opportunity to shove some eggs into his mouth. I watched him carefully, waiting for him to say something. Chibs swallowed his mouthful of eggs and looked at me. "Whoever cooks these babies know what they're doing."

"I'll tell Russ that you like his food but seriously, Chibs!" I said. "Did Vince actually die in an accident? Was it some rival of the club's that might've wanted retaliation for some reason?"

Chibs sighed. "I honestly don't know much 'bout Vince's death. I never knew your uncle well, Moody. If you want answers, you might want to talk to Clay, he was very close to Vince apparently." I sighed and grudgingly accepted that that was what I'd have to live with for now. Chibs ate some bacon and glanced at me. "You can ask by the way."

I started. "What?"

Chibs swallowed and gestured to the scars on his face. "I've caught on that ever since we met, you've been glancing at these. So I'm givin' you permission to ask. At least ya don't outright say it."

I wasn't sure if this was a test of some sort. But I threw caution to the wind and I took another swig of coffee. "How'd you get those?"

Chibs drank some of his own coffee before answering. "Back when I was in Ireland, I was apart of a group called the True IRA. The leader kicked me out, stole my wife and kid, and did this to my face." He gestured to his scars. "He told me never to come back." Chibs let me know he was finished by downing the rest of his coffee.

I stared at him, feeling horrible for what he had gone through. The way Chibs had said it, short and fast, made me feel even worse than I thought any other story would have. Chibs got more coffee from another waitress and ate more of his food. I sat my coffee mug down and lifted my shirt a bit on the side where Chibs was sitting. He saw what I was doing and frowned, but that frown turned into anger when he saw the series of scars on my side.

"My dad threw a lamp at me once." I said. "The glass got caught in all those places." I pointed to them and put my shirt back down. Chibs looked back up at me. "I was thirteen and I had told him that I wanted to spend the summer here with Vince. We fought and then this happened."

"Did your mum not know?" Chibs asked, looking extremely concerned.

"She knew, but she had it worse than me." I said, becoming interested in the counter again. Chibs turned back to face forward. "People just suck," I said, finishing my coffee.

"Yes, they do," Chibs replied. We sat there in silence for a bit more, and once again, it was a comfortable silence. Chibs finished eating his breakfast and got up from the bar. I stood up as well. "Well, Miss Moody, thanks for the breakfast and for talkin'. I'll go ahead and let Clay know that you want to know more about Vince." He turned to leave but I stopped him by quickly hugging him. There was a brief pause before he actually hugged me back.

After Chibs and I let go of each other, he said goodbye again and left. I went back to work, feeling like I was making an actual friend in SAMCRO.

* * *

The next night after Moody's had closed, I got a knock on my door. I quickly put a pair of sweatpants on, knowing that the only people who visited this late were Sons. And I really, _really_ didn't want any of them to see me in my underwear.

Clay was standing outside my door on the fire escape. A shadow of a man was standing behind him. I stared when I recognized Lowell from the auto shop. His skin had a grayish tinge to it and he was sweating like crazy. I looked up at Clay, who had an arm around Lowell and was keeping him standing up.

"I need the basement." Clay said curtly. I nodded and grabbed the restaurant keys from a hook by the door. Clay and Lowell followed me down the fire escape and into the restaurant, not that Lowell really seemed to have much of a say in the matter. He was barely able to walk and Clay had to practically carry him to the basement. Lowell slumped to his knees on the concrete floor.

"I'll get him something," I said before running all the way back to my apartment. I returned out of breath but with a rolled up blow-up mattress and a blanket and pillow. Clay stared at me when I began to set all this up. "Can you help?" I asked with a snap in my voice. Clay helped finish setting up the bed and helped Lowell to it. Lowell collapsed into it and continued with his ragged breathing.

"What's he detoxing from?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow.

Clay frowned at me. "Coke. How'd you know he was detoxing?"

"My first college roommate had a boyfriend who did coke. I saw him while he detoxing from it, and he looked just like how Lowell looks now."

"I guess drugs in college has perks," Clay said. He covered Lowell with the blanket. "If you could keep him here until he fixes himself, that'd be great."

I nodded. "I'll take care of him. No one will know he's here."

"Good," Clay said, and he began to head up the stairs. I followed with one last glance at Lowell, who was writhing around on the mattress. Once inside the kitchen, Clay made a bee line for the fridge and looked around inside. "No beer?" He asked. I edged past him and grabbed a bottle of water for Lowell.

"Beer's in my fridge upstairs." I said, leaving the room momentarily to bring the water to Lowell. When I got back, I saw that Clay had pulled out a Stogie from his pocket and was about to light it. "Not in my kitchen, please." I said. Clay looked like he was going to light the cigar anyway, but he put it away anyway. There was a silence, and unlike the silence with Chibs, this one had more tension in the air.

But then Clay began to talk. "I talked to Chibs. He said that you want to know more about how your uncle died." I nodded, hoping that I'd finally get an answer. "Like the report said, Suzanne, Vince's death was an accident."

I stared at him. "Really?" Clay nodded. "You're sure of this?" Once again, Clay nodded at me.

"Good night, Suzanne," Clay said and he left my kitchen. I listened to the sound of tires driving away and I shook my head, getting the feeling that Clay had just lied to my face.


	12. 12: A New Plan

A few days later, Lowell had gotten a lot stronger. He was able to walk by himself and take care of himself. I decided that I would take him back to Teller-Morrow when the lunch rush slowed down. This meant I spent most of lunch keeping an eye on Stahl and whichever agent was with her. Sometimes Deputy Sheriff Hale would be with her, but it was mostly other feds.

"I wish I knew what they were talking about," I grumbled to myself. Shelly heard and shrugged.

"Well, we can't know. Unless they got it in their minds to just _tell _you everything they're up to." Shelly said while cleaning glasses. I chewed on the words she said, and slowly turned around to look at her. Shelly saw me and stared with alarm. "What?"

"You just gave me a brilliant idea." I said. "A brilliant and reckless and stupid idea but it's so much of all of that that it might just work."

Shelly looked alarmed. "I'm afraid to ask." Cherry, who had been wiping down the bar top, walked over and asked what we were talking about.

"I've got a meeting." I said hurriedly, leaving Shelly and Cherry at the bar. I went into my office and opened the bookshelf door, getting Lowell. I managed to sneak him into the alley and into the Buick. We pulled out and began to head to Teller-Morrow.

The lot looked just as busy as it usually did. Lowell and I began to head for the clubhouse when he stopped me.

"I'm gonna go find Clay or Gemma in the office, see if I can get to work soon. Thanks again for helping me." Lowell said. "Really, thank you." I didn't even get the chance to tell him that it was okay when he leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I stared after him as Lowell began walking away from the clubhouse and to the garage office. I entered the clubhouse, feeling Lowell's gratitude still on my cheek.

As I walked farther into the clubhouse, a coppery scent filled my nostrils and I had to cover my mouth when I saw Chibs leaving the chapel with blood coating his hands. I heard my last name being called and turned to see Tig walking towards me from the couch. An abandoned crow-eater was still sitting where Tig had left her.

"What're you doing here?" Tig asked.

"I got an idea about the restaurant, since the ATF spend every single lunch break in there." I said. I glanced back at the chapel doors. "Do I even want to know what happened in there?"

Tig followed my gaze. "An Irish friend of ours got caught in the crossfire." He said. "Clay will be back in a bit, so you can tell him your idea when he gets here."

"Thanks Tig," I said. Tig nodded and went back to his crow-eater. I went to the bar and sat down. I could see a bit of what was happening in the chapel: I saw the Irishman laying on the table, I caught a glimpse of Gemma standing on one side of him, and an unknown woman and Juice were on the other side of him, so that I could only see their backs. I also noticed that this woman and Juice were standing awfully close to one another...

"Moody, how long 'ave you been here?" Chibs asked me as he walked up to me. He had rinsed off the blood it looked like, as he was drying his hands with a hand towel. I tore my gaze from Juice's back to look at Chibs.

"Just a few minutes. I came up with an idea of telling what the ATF were talking about in the restaurant." I said. "Tig told me to wait for Clay to come back."

"What's your plan?" Chibs asked, throwing the towel onto the counter.

"Wires," I said. "If we tapped the booth that they always sit at, then we'd be able to hear whatever they talk about." Chibs stared at me. I backtracked. "They might just be talking about nothing, but they mentioned the raid in there, so I thought it was a good idea."

"That _is _a good idea," Chibs said. "I'll bring it up at church, see what Clay makes of it. But other than that, you could talk to Juice, see if he wants to do it."

"Do what?" Juice asked, heading straight towards us. I stared at the blood on his hands. Juice looked down at them. "Hold on." He hurried away to go wash his hands, all while Chibs shook his head. When Juice returned, he listened to me re-explaining my idea with an extremely focused look on his face. His face was bunched up into an expression that looked almost angry. When I was finished, he smiled. "I'll be more than happy to do that. Tapping a booth will be a piece of cake. Oh, and I can install cameras too, and hook them up to the computer in your apartment so that you can watch them too!"

The way he said this was like a little kid getting excited over a new toy.

Chibs narrowed his eyes at Juice. "Calm down there, Juicy Boy. I'm bringin' this plan up to Clay next time we're at church. So don't go gettin' ahead of yourself and going to Moody's at night to tap the place." Juice calmed down a bit, but still had that focused look on his face that said that his mind was moving at a mile a minute.

I changed the subject by looking back inside the chapel. "Who's she?" I asked, staring at the woman stitching up the Irishman. Chibs and Juice followed my gaze.

"Dr. Tara," Juice said. "She's with Jax, sort of." Chibs nodded in agreement. I remembered the flare I had felt inside of me when I had seen her standing close to Juice, and I immediately felt foolish.

After waiting at the clubhouse for about twenty minutes, Chibs told me I could go back home if I wanted. He assured me that he would tell Clay all about my idea. Juice, who had left to get himself a beer, came back right as I was leaving.

"D'you need a ride home?" He asked, his hand hovering over the beer top. "I'd be able to get back in time for church." He told the last part to Chibs.

"I drove here, so I'm good on the ride." I said. Juice looked slightly disappointed. I said goodbye to them and began to walk out the door. Right as I was opening it, I heard loud footsteps behind me and turned to see Juice catching up. "I said that my car was here." I said again, walking outside. Juice followed me.

"I heard you," He said with a distinct smugness to his voice. "But I'm walking you to your car anyway."

Despite not having a real reason to, I felt my face heat up. "Why though? It's right there, and I don't think anyone's going to mug me when I'm twenty feet from SAMCRO's headquarters."

Juice gave me a mock glare. "Can't you just let me act the gentleman?" He asked, opening my car door to make a point. If my face wasn't red enough, it definitely was now. I started the car and Juice bent down to talk to me through the open window. "I highly doubt that Clay will say no to me tapping the agents' table, so I'll call you and let you know when I'm coming over."

I smirked at him. "I'll be looking forward to it." Juice raised his eyebrows but had a smirk on his face as I pulled out of the lot.

My face still felt like it was on fire.


	13. 13: Wired

The next day, my home phone was the one that was ringing off the hook. I checked the caller I.D and saw that it was Teller-Morrow. The voice on the other end was Juice. "Hey, I'm coming over around eleven to tap the place. Be prepared!" And with that, Juice hung up. I glanced at the phone, surprised by the shortness of Juice's message. But I just shrugged it off and continued about my daily routine, though I had to admit that I was looking forward to Juice's visit.

At exactly eleven that night, the usual pounding on my door sounded. I had to rush over to it, still afraid that one day Juice would break down my door just by knocking. I opened the door and there was Juice, holding his laptop under his arm and a backpack over his shoulder.

"Looks like you came prepared," I noted, letting him into the kitchen.

Juice looked proud of himself. "Oh yeah. Clay told me to go all out; make sure that you don't have any dead spots so that we can catch _anything _it is that the ATF bitch says." He swung his backpack off his shoulder and set it down gently onto the counter. He handed me the laptop and began to go through the backpack, emptying it of all kinds of wires and other technical stuff that I couldn't begin to wrap my head around.

Juice pulled out an individual wire and held it out so that I could see it. "This is what's gonna be under their table. I should be able to attach the microphone to it and I should be able make sure it's hidden. That way unless she knows it's there, she won't be able to find it." He said this all rather fast and he left the kitchen before I could respond.

I followed him out into the dining area, bringing the backpack and laptop with me. Juice was just beyond the bar, looking around at all the tables and booths. "Which one is hers?" I showed him the booth and Juice hurried over to it and practically dove underneath it. I was still holding the laptop, unsure of why Juice needed it at the moment. Then Juice rolled himself out from under the table and looked up at me with wide brown eyes. "Could you go ahead and open up my computer?"

I set the laptop down on another booth table and did as he asked. "Now what?" I asked, staring at his desktop.

"There's an icon in the top right corner; go ahead and click that and it should pop up a microphone data screen." Juice directed from under the table. I let him know that I did what he said. "Okay, now there's a box in my bag. It looks like a huge USB hard drive."

It took a second for me to find the drive he was talking about. And just like he said, it resembled a fat USB drive. "Found it."

"Good. Now plug that in and the pop-up screen that shows up will have a box for you to type in the microphone code."

"I marvel at how you know all this," I said, waiting for the screen to pop up.

Juice laughed from under the table. I could see that he had crossed one of his legs over the other one. "You helped me bake. I'm helping you with this. Now we're even."

"Now we're even," I muttered, smiling a bit to myself. The screen popped up and there was a blank white box with the blinking line for me to type in. "The screen is up; what's the code?"

"SMR-MIC-08-14."

I looked down at Juice. He bent his head around so that he could make eye contact. "It's gonna connect this microphone through my computer and then I can bounce the signal into your computer up in your apartment."

"You can do all that?" I asked typing in the code before I forgot it.

"If you know what to do," Juice said, rolling out from underneath the table. He nudged me over in the booth that I had been sitting at and pulled his laptop towards himself. A bunch of other screens popped up and Juice somehow managed to control all of them by typing in codes the second they showed themselves. I tried not to think about the fact that I was close enough to smell a scent coming off of him. "Let's go up to your apartment now: I've got to look at your computer before we move on."

We made it up to my apartment. When he entered, Juice paused for a second before moving to the computer and he began to pull up a bunch of files on there that I hadn't even known existed. He dug through his bag for a moment before pulling out a yellow cable and connected it to both our computers. As I watched, I saw that his face had a look of deep and complete concentration. I remembered how when I had showed him the s'mores recipe how he had gaped at some of the things that I had done then. I completely understood the feeling now.

Juice unplugged the computers and pulled up a narrow black box on the desktop. A thin green line went directly through the box. Juice got up and looked over at me. "Wait here for a second. I'll be right back." He hurried out the door. I waited for less than a minute when the green line began to jump and the sound of someone sitting at the booth came through my speakers.

"Holy shit," I whispered, immensely impressed.

"Testing, testing, one two three." Juice's voice came over the speakers, loud and clearly. "Let's see: name's Juice, I'm a Son, I'm here at Moody's who should be listening, I'm also a genius." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"You _are_ a genius," I said, although there was no way he could hear me.

"Hey Moody," Juice said. "D'you think there's a possibility me eating dinner while I'm here? I haven't had it yet."

"And I'm willing to bet money that you did that on purpose," I said with a laugh. I muted the sound but I could still see the green line bouncing all over the box, telling me that Juice was probably still listing facts about himself. And sure enough, when I entered the dining area again, Juice was saying how tall he was. "So you're hungry?"

Juice followed me back into the kitchen and he began to ransack the place, trying to figure out what he wanted. I had decided that whatever he wanted, I would make it, seeing as he had just gone out of his way to install that microphone. Juice walked up to me with bread and some leftover roast beef that had been cooked earlier that evening. I tilted my head at it. "You just want a sandwich? You do realize that I said I'd make you anything?"

"Yeah, I get that." Juice said. "But I'm a guy of simple pleasures, and sandwiches is one of those. Plus, they're about all I eat at home." He paused as I shrugged and got the sandwich ready. "I still have to install a camera in that corner so you can see them too. That _will _take longer, so I'm gonna be here a while. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," I replied, pulling barbeque sauce out of the fridge. Juice watched me finish the sandwich with a thoughtful look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's going on in there?" I asked.

Juice shrugged and smiled a bit to himself. "Just trying to figure out if I want root beer or Sprite." His eye twitched ever so slightly.

I got the feeling that he wasn't telling the truth, but I shrugged anyway. "Well, the syrup for Sprite is pretty much empty, so your answer is root beer." I gave him a small smile that he returned and he left to go get himself a tall glass of root beer. He then carried his meal to a table and gestured at me to sit down with him.

"So that mike will only get that booth?" I asked, looking over at it. Juice nodded, his mouth to full of sandwich for him to answer properly. "Good. But I imagine that whenever Stahl isn't sitting there, I'm going to get a lot of interesting conversations."

"You're not actually going to listen in on random customers, right?" Juice asked before taking a swig of root beer.

I shook my head. "Of course not. I only plan on using it when Stahl is sitting there. Other than that, the mike will be on mute." Juice smirked and nodded, swallowing some of his sandwich.

"This is really good, by the way," Juice said, pointing at the food. "I find it cool that you've got your thing that you're an expert at, and I've got mine. And we also know just about nothing about the other's special skill."

"I was thinking about that earlier." I said.

"Great minds think alike," Juice finished his sandwich and started to put the dish away. I followed him back into the kitchen and once he was finished, he began to angle the camera. While he was doing that, I put his stuff into the dishwasher and started it. By the time I got back to the dining area, Juice was already using a drill to set the camera up.

"You work fast," I noted.

"Thanks," He replied. He made some final adjustments to the camera before climbing off my bar and typing something onto the laptop. "And it's at an angle too so that even if Stahl does not notice the new camera, it's not pointed directly at her."

I nodded. "Smart," I said. Juice seemed to swell when I called his plan smart. We went back upstairs and he did some more things to my computer so that a screen with the footage from downstairs popped up.

"Put that along with the audio and you should be able to keep a close eye on Stahl." Juice said finally with a sigh. I leaned forward to get closer to the computer. My face was just about two inches from Juice's.

"They look a little out of sync, how do we catch them up with each other?" I asked. Juice typed in something at lightning-fast speed and the video and audio began to move together as one. "There we go," I said to myself with a smile on my face.

I felt a slight brush on my cheek and I turned my head a little to see Juice looking at me. I felt an instant magnetism to him and I moved forward. Juice did the same and soon my lips were against his. He tasted like roast beef and root beer and my insides felt like fireworks were going off. I wasn't sure how long we sat in front of my computer, making out, but when we finally separated, I could feel my face burn and Juice's brown skin looked flushed.

We didn't talk much as Juice packed up everything into his backpack. Right before he got onto his bike to leave, Juice approached me again and kissed me again, briefer this time, but it still managed to make my stomach do dozens of summersaults.

"I'll see you soon, Miss Moody," Juice said faintly. With that, he got onto the bike and thundered away. I went back inside and closed the door, pressing my back against the door. I took a deep breath as a smile spread across my face.


	14. 14: Threats

I couldn't wait for Stahl to come in for lunch the next day. I also couldn't get the memory of Juice and I in front of my computer out of my mind, but I kept that particular memory out of common knowledge as a few guys from SAMCRO came over for breakfast. It was Jax who came over today, and he had brought over someone who he introduced as Opie. I was a little surprised to see Jax here; he had only come once before, other than that he had never come over.

"How you doing, Moody?" Jax asked as I finished their order. His friend, Opie, looked a little out of place. He kept looking around with an air of discomfort, despite the fact that with his towering figure and thick beard, he seemed like he would fit into the club the most.

"I'm good, just waiting for Stahl to rear her ugly head in here." I said.

Jax let out a short laugh. Opie glanced over at me from the kitchen window. "Stahl came by our house yesterday. She tried talking Donna into ratting on the club."

"Donna?" I asked.

"My wife," Opie said. He said with a small twinge of sadness, but I didn't pry, sensing that it was all very personal. "And then she got to Luann, apparently. I talked to Tig and Stahl raided the studio for drugs last night."

Jax shook his head and looked over at me. "It looks like Stahl's been targeting the women, Moody. If Stahl asks to talk to you today, just act like you know nothing about us. According to what you said last time, she already thinks you're a part of us, at least in a deeper way than already."

"Deeper way?" I repeated. Then I frowned. "Is that why you're the one who came today? Usually it's Tig or someone else."

Jax shrugged, giving my answer a yes. "And by deeper way, I mean old lady material." I remembered the explanation Chibs had given me about old ladies, and how they were the steady girlfriends or wives of the club. I blinked at the thought of being an old lady. "By going after the women, she's probably thinking that you guys are more willing to rat."

"They clearly haven't met Gemma yet,"

Opie laughed. "She's funny," He grabbed their full to-go bag and headed out the door. Jax gave me one last reminder about Stahl before following Opie. I blinked at the thought of Stahl thinking I was an old lady: a friend of the club definitely but old lady?

Hours later, I spotted Stahl coming into the restaurant through the kitchen window. I excused myself from the kitchen staff and hurried up to my apartment. If I had been working out there at the bar again, Stahl could've noticed me leaving right when she walked in. When I got to my computer, the black box was still there and the green line was already bouncing all over the place. I unmuted it.

"...porn studio and arsonists are easy," Stahl's friend was saying. "But getting information on the doctor and Moody here is going to be harder: as far as our research has gone, they both have clean records."

I felt immediately grateful for my goody-two-shoes personality in high school.

"If you look hard enough, you can find something." Stahl said. The mike was picking up her tapping foot in the background. I pulled up the video footage and could see that she and her agent friend had already received their drinks. "Besides, Vince Moody was a good friend to SAMCRO, and his record showed us that he's done lots of things for his friends. It can be simple to see if this Moody has the same idea."

"Hell June, we don't even know if this girl is old lady material!" The other agent said. "With Delaney, she was married to a member. And Zambell was seen at the clubhouse and with a member. This Moody girl, all we've witnessed is her getting her car towed and getting a ride back."

I saw Stahl roll her eyes on the screen. "I'm still talking to her after lunch. Perhaps to the club she's a friend, but to her," Stahl chuckled. "If a young girl just moved into the area and was immediately surrounded by bikers, any sound-minded girl would be scared out of her mind."

I put the mike on mute for a second and walked away from the computer. I began to head downstairs to the restaurant, knowing that I would want to be close by when Stahl asked for me. Valerie and Russ looked at me curiously but didn't question my absence. I got back to work, waiting impatiently for Stahl to finish eating her salad.

Finally, after what felt like a tense several hours, Shelly entered the kitchen, looking worried. "Um, Suzy? There's a federal agent who wants to speak with you."

"Bring her into my office." I said, pulling off my apron and going into the office. I had only just sat down when Agent Stahl entered. She still had that expression on her face as if something that smelled awful was right underneath her nose. "Agent," I greeted her, standing up to shake her hand. Stahl returned the handshake.

"It was so nice of you to see me on such short notice." Stahl said. "I've come to notice that lunchtime is one of your busiest times."

"Well, I don't really go anywhere else, so it wouldn't be worth it to pretend I was out for the day."

"You do go to another place, I know." Stahl said. Here we go, I thought grimly. "I'm here to ask you again about your relationship with the Sons of Anarchy."

"Ask away," I said. "I'm an open book."

Stahl looked over at my bookshelf and stood up. I tried not to show it, but when she got closer to the bookshelf, my pulse spiked considerably. Stahl reached out and picked up the book my uncle had about motorcycles. She flipped through the pages and looked at me.

"I like to say that I'm a motorcycle enthusiast." I said. "I like bikes; sue me."

Stahl put the motorcycle book down without looking at the shelf. I allowed myself to relax a bit on the inside. Stahl took a seat again and stared me down. "Did you know that your uncle was once charged with aiding and abetting? Yes, he was arrested a few years ago for, in his words, 'helping his friends'. Your uncle was extremely loyal, Miss Moody, loyal to a fault. It would seem that you and him are much more alike than I expected."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for calling me loyal, Stahl. Do you have a point to your rant, though? I've got a restaurant to run."

Stahl leaned forward. "I'm saying that I have no problem with charging you with aiding and abetting, just like he once was."

I felt anger charge up inside me. "You have no proof." I snapped. "You can't arrest me without any real charges."

"I can easily find something if I really want to, Miss Moody." Stahl said, meeting my eyes with that infuriating, superior look in her face. "So I'm going to ask you again. And this time, think hard about who you want to be loyal to: the law, or the band of outlaws that will turn you over the moment you're no longer of use to them."

I stood up. Stahl stood up as well, and with her heels and normal height, she towered over me. But I glared at her with fury. "I don't know a thing about what the Sons of Anarchy do with their lives, and I don't care to know. And I'm loyal to family, and you're not family. Now get your raggedy ass out of my office."

Stahl smirked at me. "I'll be back, Miss Moody. And next time, I won't give you the chance to change your answer." She walked out of my office with her nose in the air. I watched her go before glancing nervously at the bookshelf. All she really needed to do was shift the dictionary and thesaurus to the side a bit...


	15. 15: People Watching

A few days later there was a pounding on my door apartment door. Before I even opened the door, I knew it was Juice, simply by the sound of urgency coming from his knocking. I remembered the last time I had been alone with him and I was blushing before I even let him in. Juice came in and muttered "hey" before I could even say hello.

"You okay?" I asked, closing the door and sensing that something was wrong. Juice sat down on my couch and looked up at me.

He shook his head. "Nope, nothing's wrong at all." Juice's eye twitched slightly and he turned his attention to my T.V. He let out a short laugh. "The cook is watching the cooking channel. Why am I not surprised?"

I sat down on the opposite end of the couch, by my own laptop. "I was working on the employees' paychecks. Cake Boss was just on in the background."

"Right," Juice said, dragging out the word with a smug smile on his face. He allowed me to work on my laptop for a while. Juice kept himself busy by watching whatever was on the T.V. I became constantly aware of every little move he made, and after a while, I had to look away from my laptop to where he was practically sprawled on the couch.

"Can I ask you something without you getting mad?" I asked.

"That all depends on the question." Juice said. "Go ahead."

"Why exactly are you here right now?" I asked.

Juice glanced up at me from where he was slumped down. "Do you want me to leave?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine with you staying here. But I was just wondering."

He reached up to his ear and he began to rub it between his fingers. "The club's got a lot on its plate right now. I came here 'cause compared to anyone else I could go to, you're a breath of fresh air." He paused to sit up. "I like hanging out over here."

"And I like you hanging out here," I said. Juice raised an eyebrow at me. "Just let me know the when and my door will be open." Juice smiled at this and he craned his neck to look over my shoulder at my computer screen.

"How much do you pay them?" He asked, moving a bit closer.

"Minimum wage for the high school students, which is pretty much all of the waiting staff. I've got four college students who are trying to pay their ways through college so they get a little bit more than the high schoolers. And my full-timers like Shelly, Valerie, and Russ, they get paid the most."

"That's an unfortunate amount of math." Juice said, staring at the numbers of the screen with that ferocious look of concentration on his face. He got even closer and grabbed at the laptop. "But I like math, so let me try."

I allowed him to take the laptop from me and he began to pick his way through adding up hours with wages. He kept the laptop angled so that I could still see what he was doing and every now and then I'd have to stop him and fix something, but that was really rare. Our sides were pressed up against one another and I could feel warmth radiating from beneath his dark hoodie, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt very calming, just the feeling of having someone else that close.

Finally, the last employee was paid and Juice raised his hands into the air. "Boom! The workers are paid!" I laughed as he saved the graphs and then he closed my computer. "Now what can we do? Got any restaurant chores that demand muscles?"

I stared at him for his eagerness. "Not really." I answered. The restaurant was still open downstairs and I had already told Valerie that I trusted her to close it up when it was time.

"In that case, I'm gonna explore this place." Juice said, hopping up from the couch. "I haven't gotten a tour yet." He looked back down to me. "D'you mind giving me the grand tour?"

"'Course not," I said, standing up. I gestured with wide arms around the living room. "This is the living room, obviously, where I watch T.V and pay employees. If you were to look through that door right there, you'd see the master bedroom and master bath, but since this is the guest tour, you don't get to go in there."

"Damn," Juice said with a smile that looked too big for his face. I laughed at what he was suggesting and turned away and exited the living room before he could see my face turn bright red. We circled the kitchen island, which was most definitely the most put together room in the apartment. I then led Juice to the second room.

"What was in here?" Juice asked, staring around at all the cardboard boxes. "It looks like you haven't unpacked this room yet."

"It looks like that because I haven't." I said simply. "All this was some of my uncle's things. I got rid of some of the things through eBay, but a lot of this stuff is personal things of his: stuff that I don't know what to do with." Juice put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. When he released, I could still feel the imprint of his hand there.

Juice walked over to the window in the room that overlooked Main Street. In front of the window was a foldable lawn chair, similar to the ones that people could bring to the beach. Juice bent down and picked up the empty beer bottle by it. I looked away and scratched my head, realizing that I had forgotten to pick that up.

"What's this set up for?" Juice asked, throwing the bottle into a nearby trash bin.

"People watching," I said, walking over to window and to him. "If you sit up here during dinner time or even lunch, you can sit here and watch people walk by." Juice looked out the window to the people walking around the sidewalks. The setting sun was staining the street a mix between orange and red.

"Is there another chair?" Juice asked. I quickly found him one and he moved the first chair over before setting the new one down right next to it. "Let's people watch," He said right before disappearing from the room. I sat down and my eyes wandered across the street. Something cold bumped against my shoulder and I looked up to see that Juice had brought back two bottles of beer from the fridge.

He took the other seat and inhaled deeply. "I like how your apartment smells like whatever is cooking downstairs."

I snorted. "You should've smelt it a few days ago: a new cook burned a whole batch of breakfast muffins."

Juice laughed and shook his head. "No one bakes like you do, Moody." He took a drink from his beer. Then his eyes, like mine, went across the street. "What's that over there?"

"I forget what used to be over there," I said. "But someone just bought the building to make a cigar shop." We stared at the shop, its windows covered with boards and two signs hanging from the boards, one saying that the building had been bought and the other telling you what would be coming soon. Juice then spotted a family walking past the boarded up-soon to be cigar shop and he started laughing when two of the little boys began to try and break in.

"What the hell are they doing?" He asked, looking highly amused.

"That family comes in every Friday for dinner and those two boys are pains." I said. "I honestly feel so bad for those parents."

"Are they coming to us now?" Juice asked as the father rounded up the two boys and the mother began to walk across the crosswalk with the older daughter. Sure enough, the whole family entered the restaurant below us. Then Juice and I noticed two teenagers sitting in the corner of the outside eating area.

"D'you think they're really studying?" Juice asked, looking at the teens' open textbooks and papers.

I took a good look. "Looks like it started off that way." The textbooks and papers had been moved farther away from them. "I'm going to guess that one of them is failing a class and the other volunteered for the task of tutoring them, which the failure couldn't be more happy about." I looked over at Juice, who was staring at me. "Take it away, Juicy!"

"Only Chibs calls me that," Juice muttered before clearing his throat. "So the failure, let's call him Ricky, is failing English and the tutor, or Amanda, is his crush. Like he's had a crush on this girl since he first saw her in their freshmen year, since it looks like they're both juniors, I'm guessing. But unknown to Ricky, Amanda has had a crush on him too for quite some time, so when she volunteered to tutor him, the guy went ballistic with excitement."

I stared at Juice. "You are surprisingly great at this." I said. Juice laughed as I began to pick up the story. "So Ricky suggested that they meet at the most romantic and affordable place to be to study. Which is, of course, Moody's."

"This place is considered romantic to teenagers?" Juice asked, taking another drink of beer.

"You'd be amazed at the number of first dates I get to witness in a week." I said. "I seriously think that this place is everyone's first date location."

"I'm going to have to hear some stories later," Juice said. "But first let's get back to the love story of Ricky and Amanda."

I finished a gulp of beer before continuing. "So they meet and at first they start off studying, just so that they can actually get some work done. But then they start talking about some personal stuff and they get off topic and they start to get to know one another a lot better than they ever thought they ever would."

Juice was staring at me again with a small smile on his face. "Kinda like what we're doing, right?"

I met his eyes and nodded. "Kinda like us." My hand rested on the chair's arm, and I didn't bother pulling it away when Juice reached out and grasped it. I felt his fingers intertwine themselves with mine and I squeezed his hand. We both looked back at the street and sat there for a long time with our hands interlocked.


	16. 16: Welcome Home

I woke up the next morning with my bedroom door wide open. I frowned for a second, knowing full well that I preferred to sleep with my door shut. But then I remembered that Juice had spent the night on my couch last night.

Juice hadn't wanted to leave last night, and he insisted on sleeping on my couch. I got out of bed and walked to the door, looking into the living room. Juice was completely sprawled out on my couch with a plaid blanket over him. His shoes and socks were by the T.V and his hoodie had been thrown on top of his chair in the second bedroom where we had people watched until it got too dark to see outside properly.

Shutting the door, I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I got out, I put on a fresh shirt and a pair of jeans and put my wet hair into a twisted bun. Though as I got dressed, I smelt something cooking from my kitchen. I hurried out of my room to see Juice hovering over my stove with a spatula. I watched him silently for a few moments: he was clumsily scrambling eggs in a frying pan.

I walked up and grabbed salt from my cabinet. Juice jumped when I came up beside him and sprinkled some salt onto the eggs he was working on. Juice grinned at me and took the eggs off the heat. "One thing I learned from Bobby cooking himself breakfast was how to make eggs. Eggs and toast are the only breakfast foods I know how to make and I couldn't find bread."

"It's on top of the fridge," I said, glancing up at the basket up there. Juice followed my gaze and frowned.

"You think I'd be able to see that,"

While Juice got the bread and began to use the toaster, I tore up slices of cheese and let it melt on the eggs. Juice saw what I was doing and stared. "I have never seen Bobby do that. I am gonna have to tell him 'bout that one."

"I'm sure Bobby would greatly appreciate it," I said. Soon the breakfast was ready and I marveled at it with Juice by my side. I snuck a glance at his face; he was looking pretty proud of himself. "You just made me breakfast." I said.

Juice gave me side glance with a smirk. "I made this for myself. You just happened to be here too." I rolled my eyes and nudged his arm. He nudged me right back before making a plate of eggs and toast. Juice slid the plate to me and made another one for himself. We went into the living room and ate breakfast while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

"I don't think I've hung out with a girl who would actually watch this with me," Juice said.

"Well, those other girls probably think that Desperate Housewives is quality television," I retorted. Juice snorted and barked out a laugh. We were just about finished when Juice looked at me.

"Oh I forgot to tell you last night that Jax's boy leaves the hospital tonight." Juice said.

I stared at him. "That's great!"

Juice nodded. "Gemma is throwing a welcome home party at Jax's house and everyone's going to be there. And before you say no, Clay has already said that I should invite you. So you have permission from the president himself to join us. That, and you told me that you'd join us for the next party, so you're going as a hostage if you don't come willingly."

I smiled. "Well then, I guess I have no choice but to go then. What time does it start again?"

"Six," Juice said with a distinct hint of pride in his voice. We cleaned up the breakfast mess that Juice had made from cooking and he told me that he had to leave for the clubhouse. "D'you want me to pick you up?"

"No," I said. "I'll drive myself there."

Juice nodded and started to leave but stopped short. "Wait, I forgot something."

"What?" I asked, looking at him. He hadn't worn his Sons vest here and he had his hoodie slung over his shoulder.

"This," Juice replied before leaning down to kiss me. I kissed him back and when we separated, I felt like someone had just set my insides on fire in the best way possible. Juice had an expression on his face like someone had just whacked him upside the head with a bat. "See you later, Moody." He said before leaving.

* * *

Before I left for Jax's house, I got dressed in a black shirt with a dark green scarf and I left for Jax's. When I got there, the driveway and street in front of the house was already crowded so I parked behind an old brown truck. I rang the doorbell and it was answered by Clay. He smiled warmly at me and moved aside for me to enter.

"Good to see you, Suzanne," Clay said. I entered and was greeted by the brightness and warmth of a full living room. I spotted Lowell sitting with a little boy that looked just like him, and two kids no older than eleven playing with Opie and a woman with short, black hair that I assumed was his wife Donna. Sitting on the couch was Bobby and Tig, talking loudly to one another with wide hand gestures.

"Finally!" I flinched when Chibs's voice rang out over the party. He made his way over to me and he gave me a big hug, to which I could hear Clay chuckling behind me. Chibs released me. "It's about time you came 'round, Miss Moody."

"Here here!" Tig yelled, lifting his beer to me in cheers. I laughed and walked into the party, taking a seat on the arm of the couch that Tig and Bobby were sitting on. The woman who I guessed was Donna came up to me and shook my hand.

"I'm Donna," She said, confirming my thoughts. "Opie's wife."

"He mentioned you the other day at the restaurant," I said. Donna blinked and actually turned a little red.

"He did? All good things I hope," She laughed. I assured her that it was. It wasn't long before the door opened and Jax entered with a woman with dirty blond hair and she was holding baby Abel in her arms. Everyone cheered and Clay moved forward to hold his grandson. I noticed Tara standing by the kitchen doorway, looking at the dirty blond woman with contempt in her eyes.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see Gemma standing behind me. "Can I talk to you, Suzanne?"

"What'd you do now, Moody?" Chibs asked, joking. I rolled my eyes and followed Gemma into the empty kitchen.

Gemma looked me up and down. "I guess we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other, Suzanne."

"I guess we are," I said, holding Gemma's gaze. Then she smiled and did something unexpected. Gemma reached out and pulled me into a tight hug. She pushed me away afterwards to hold me out at arm's length.

"Then welcome to the family," She said with the first hint of warmth that I had heard from her. I smiled and thanked her. "Now, you better help me out in here. I could use your expert chef skills." Gemma smiled warmly at me and we began to cook some simple dishes like buffalo wings and potato skins. Every now and then someone would walk in and try to steal some unfinished food, but between Gemma and me, they didn't get it.

The woman who had arrived with Jax came in when we were almost finished and complimented the smell. "Hi, I'm Wendy. I'm Abel's mom."

"Suzanne Moody, nobody's mom," I replied. Wendy laughed and helped us finish the last of the food. When the food was ready, everyone came in it seemed at once to eat. I felt my stomach catch fire when Juice walked in. He made a bee-line to me and he stopped right in front of me, looking happy but also unsure of what to do next. I caught Gemma's eye but she didn't say anything, just smiled to herself.

Juice rubbed his ear between his fingers. "Yeah, I tried to come in earlier but Chibs told me that you and Gemma were making friends and to let you two bond over cooking."

"It worked, didn't it?" Chibs asked him loudly as he passed. He sauntered away with an empty bottle in his hand.

"How much has Chibs drank tonight?" I asked Juice in a hushed voice.

"I'm afraid to know the answer," Juice said in his own version of a hushed voice, which was more like regular talking. I laughed and we went to go sit together to eat. I ended up squeezed between Juice and Tig on the couch. Most of the party was just talking to one another, and frequently someone would yell something at another person across the room. It was loud, slightly chaotic, but it was all-in-all fantastic.

Tara left early, looking tearful. I exchanged a glance with Juice but neither of us said anything. Soon after Tara left, Opie and Donna stood up with their kids, announcing that they had to leave. Everyone got up to say goodbye, and Donna actually gave me hug, telling me to have a good time during the rest of the party. They left and I returned to my seat on the couch, where Tig had disappeared.

"Where'd Tig go?" I asked Juice, who was sitting on his side of the couch but looked visibly more relaxed due to the fact that there was more room.

Juice shrugged. "He didn't say, but he might come back later. Come and sit!" He made room for me and patted the seat right next to him. I snorted and sat down next to him. Juice wasted no time stretching his arm so that it rested on my shoulders. I spotted Clay and Gemma glancing over in my direction, but neither of them said anything so I tried not to worry about it.

I was talking to Wendy when there was a knock on the door. Clay left to go answer it. The party crowd was beginning to thin and I could feel Juice's fingers rubbing my ear around. Wendy went to go help Gemma out in the kitchen and I looked over at Juice, my ear still caught between his fingers.

"You like doing that don't you?" I asked.

Juice seemed to realize what he was doing. "I do that without thinking. Sorry 'bout that." He began to let go but I held his hand there, allowing him to continue playing with my ear. The atmosphere in the living room was very relaxed when the phone rang. Gemma answered it and her face slowly went from contentedness to horror.

Gemma dropped the phone and began to slide down to the floor. I jumped forward, leaving Juice on the couch, and I managed to catch Gemma right before her legs gave in completely.

Wendy came into the room and looked at Gemma and I on the floor with shock. "What happened?" Juice had come over, concern and controlled fright in his face. Gemma looked up at all of us.

"Donna's dead," Gemma said in a weak voice. "She got shot from behind."

A wave of icy cold covered me and I felt as though my insides were made of ice. Donna had been here not even thirty minutes ago, now she was...

Juice said goodbye really fast and left to go check on the rest of the guys. I stayed with Wendy and we helped get Gemma into the day bed in Abel's room. When we closed the door we heard Gemma's sobs begin. I finished helping Wendy clean the kitchen.

"You can go now, Suzanne," Wendy said. "I'll take care of Gemma and Abel." I nodded and left the house, feeling numb. As I was driving I came to a stop sign that separated the way to my restaurant and the clubhouse. I turned left.

If I had been driving to Moody's, I would've turned right.


	17. 17: Drink a Beer

The parking lot at the clubhouse was just about empty. I entered the clubhouse itself and saw that only two people were there. Chibs and Juice looked up at me when I approached the bar and Chibs made room so that I could sit down between them.

"I came to see if I could help somehow," I told them as I took the open seat.

Chibs passed me a bottle of beer. "You can help by drinking a beer." He made his point by shoving an unopened one at me. I took it and popped the top before taking a long and slow drink. Chibs nudged my elbow. "Slow down there, lass. You're gonna be wrecked in no time."

Juice laughed from my other side. "I'm trying to imagine Moody getting wasted."

"I'm gonna need to be wasted after what happened," I said grimly. "Do either of you guys know what happened?"

"When we got there, Opie had already found Donna." Chibs said, staring off into space. "Apparently, Donna had been drivin' to the store when someone from the Niners drove behind 'er and shot 'er in the back of the head." I shuddered. "Agent Stahl was there; I saw 'er talkin' to Hale about somethin', but I was too busy takin' care of Op to hear anythin'."

I shook my head, imagining Agent Stahl on the crime scene. By the time we all finished our beers, it was one o'clock in the morning. And with the beer I shared with them and the one I had at Jax's, Chibs deemed I was to stay the night at the clubhouse. "You're not goin' out and drivin' right after drinkin'." Chibs said. "Too much has 'appened tonight."

So I decided to stay, not that I had much of a choice in the matter. I saw Juice making a nest on one of the couches so I started to head towards him, thinking that the nest on the couch was for me. But when I got close enough, Juice saw me and blocked my way. "What're you doing?"

I glanced at his creation. "Well Chibs isn't letting me leave and I saw you making all of that, so I kind of..." I trailed off 'cause Juice was giving me that funny expression that people get when they're trying to hold in laughter.

He let out his laughter a bit and turned it into a cough at the last second. "Sorry, but I was making this for myself. I was going to offer you my room so that you won't have to sleep on the couch."

I blinked. "Really? That's-"

"Incredibly kind of me? Yes I know, now let me show you the room." Juice said before heading down the back hallway. I hurried after him but stopped short when I fully noticed the wall of mug shots that had been framed and hung on the wall. Juice noticed that I had stopped and came back for me.

"I see you've been arrested before," I said, nodding at Juice's mug shot. Even in that picture he had a smug expression. Juice glanced between me and the wall of mug shots, rubbing his ear between his fingers.

"You okay with that?" He asked with what sounded like a nervousness.

I nodded, thinking hard. "Well you're out now. I guess that this life comes with risks."

"Yeah," Juice said absentmindedly before nudging my hand with his. "C'mon, I'll show you where you can sleep." We walked back down the hall and Juice led me into a room that was around the end of the long hall.

Juice's room was decent sized with a queen sized bed against one wall and a couch against the other wall. I saw a bathroom on the other end of the room and the room was just like I would've imagined a guy's room to look like. There were a few random articles of clothing that Juice scooped up off the floor and threw into a dirty clothes basket that was shoved into a corner.

"Sorry for the mess," Juice said hastily as he continued sweeping around the room, picking up anything that was out of place. "I wasn't expecting company." He said the last sentence with a smug grin.

I smiled and looked at him. "It's great, Juice. Thanks for not letting me sleep on a couch where several members of the club have had sex."

Juice laughed, finishing his sweep of the room. "You're welcome. Okay, and uh, if you need something to sleep in, you can grab something out of my drawer. Like a t-shirt or something." He opened a drawer and pulled out a dark shirt. "Like this, uh, SAMCRO shirt." He looked at the front to see what it was and tossed it to me. I caught it and placed it on the bed behind me. "So I guess I'll leave you to it then."

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back, and he smelt like cigarette smoke and laundry detergent. It was an odd combination but it was a comforting smell nonetheless. I felt Juice kiss the top of my head and we released each other. Juice then left me alone in his room, and I went ahead and got undressed, putting on Juice's SAMCRO shirt.

His bed smelt like him: cigarette smoke and laundry detergent. I smiled to myself and breathed in that smell before actually managing to sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning at around ten. "Oh shit!" I cussed and hurried out of the bed. I had a little trouble due to the fact that the blanket was tangled all around me. I ended up falling onto the floor, still wrapped in Juice's blanket. "Seriously?"

Detangling myself from the blanket, I stood up and put my jeans on from yesterday. I glanced over at the closed bedroom door, wondering what Juice was thinking. He probably wanted me out of his room already. I found my shirt but couldn't find the scarf I had worn to Jax's house. I briefly wondered if I had left it there and made the decision to call and ask Wendy or Gemma later.

The clubhouse was still empty when I walked in. The only person in there was Chibs, who was rubbing his temples and just looked really tired.

"Hey Chibs," I said. Chibs opened his eyes slightly to glance at me and he grunted in a pained way. "Where is everyone?"

"I think they're all at Opie's, lass." Chibs said, digging his fingertips deeper into his head.

"Bad hangover?" I asked, although the answer was amazingly clear. Chibs just nodded. "Well, I've got to get home. Good luck with-" I paused. "The hangover."

"See ya, Miss Moody." Chibs said before resting his forehead on the top of the counter. I hid my amusement and found the Buick outside. Only Chibs's bike remained in its place.

When I got home, the restaurant was already in full motion. I contemplated going inside to see how Valerie was running it, but decided against it. After last night, it seemed that the only thing I really wanted to do was be alone for a while. I locked the door behind me in the apartment and looked around the living room: the remains of Juice's nest were still there.

I sat down in one of the lawn chairs and watched the people passing by for a while. The cigar place across the street had the boards removed already and I could see people moving around it inside. A single mother walked past it with her two kids and a dry sob escaped my throat.

The funeral was the next day. I was vaguely surprised by how fast it went, but Tig (who had been the one to tell me) said that the club was friends with an undertaker. Tig also said that I was invited to the funeral and that it'd be good for Opie to see familiar faces. I hadn't really spoken to Opie, so I wasn't sure how my face being there would help in any way.

I showed up for the funeral and it was already packed with bikers and a few old ladies and some women who must've been Donna's normal life friends. For a moment, I wasn't sure where to stand, but Chibs called me over and put his arm around my shoulder in a sort of protective way. Right before the funeral started, Juice walked over to me and stood on my other side, causing me to feel incredibly small between both Juice and Chibs.

The funeral had already started when, from beyond Donna's soon-to-be grave, came Jax. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans, which struck me as odd seeing how his best friend's wife was just murdered. Everyone else noticed Jax's weird moment of timing as he got closer and stopped short just at the edge of the crowd. Quite a few people were trying to ignore him but Jax stared down two people in particular. And Clay and Gemma stared defiantly right back.

As Jax began to walk away again, I exchanged a glance with Chibs. But he looked as confused as I felt. Juice didn't seem to know what to make of that either. But everyone seemed to put that moment out of their minds as Donna was lowered into the ground.


	18. 18: Unthinkable

I was working as normal the next day. After the funeral, I couldn't get any sleep: it seemed fitting that my insomnia would strike when I needed to rest the most. I sighed for probably the fourth time as I chopped carrots for the pot roast. I was forced to stop short when a dark hand came and grabbed mine comfortably. I looked up to see Valerie standing there, with a look of concern on her face.

"Honey, I know what happened this weekend, and you shouldn't be working after all that shit." She told me firmly. I shook my head and assigned a kitchen boy to finish what I had started. Before Valerie could escape somewhere, I practically dragged her back into my office. Once I shut the door she was looking at me with a tinge of fright. "Suzy, what has happened?"

I looked at the bookshelf, where the switch was hidden. "I'm staying here."

"What?"

"I made up my mind yesterday," I said, louder this time. "Against all of my better judgment I have decided to stay here in Charming. I can still pay off those stupid college debts of mine but I'm not leaving now."

Valerie raised her eyebrows. "I thought you had a deal with your parents about going back to Anaheim?"

"I did. But let's face it: we both know what my parents were like. Even if I did go back, I'd want nothing more than to live here in Charming." I said firmly. Valerie stared at me for a long moment before she cracked a smile.

"Sounds like you've got your head screwed on straight." She said right before hugging me. "When are you leaving?"

"Might as well get it done soon." I said. "I was thinking I'd leave town at around three, get to Anaheim at like, I'm guessing sometime in the late morning, possibly early afternoon. It might take two days to get there so who knows?"

Valerie stared at me. "Just make sure you stop to sleep." She didn't know about my insomnia. I promised her I'd stop anyway. I let her get back to work before dialing the Teller-Morrow number.

Half-Sack answered. "Hello, Teller-Morrow Auto-"

"Sack, it's Moody." I interrupted his monologue. "Do me a favor and tell Chibs and the rest of the club that I'm going out of town for a few days."

"Why are you leaving town?" Sack asked.

"Family drama," I said shortly.

"Okay, I'll tell them. Do you want to talk to Chibs himself?" Sack asked. I thought about it but decided against it. "Alright then, I'll let him know." I said goodbye to Sack and was about to leave my office when the phone and again. I answered it.

"If you're leavin' town then you'd better write down the names of the people that you absolutely trust up here," Chibs said quickly, his accent making it hard to understand at first.

"What's that going to do?" I asked.

Chibs gave a dramatic sigh on the other end. "If you run into a bit of trouble, the authorities will call your emergency contact list. I say that ya write your own contact list and keep it on ya in case somethin' bad 'appens."

It sounded like paranoid ramblings to me but I went ahead and pulled out a sheet of paper. "And what's your actual name, Chibs?"

I got Chibs's real name and his number written down in case something did happen. After I hung up with him I took the paper upstairs with me to pack for a two day drive to Anaheim. I traveled light and had my bag packed in no time. By the time I loaded up the Buick and was ready to travel, it was about four o'clock. I gave Chibs's name one last look before stuffing it into my pocket.

I stopped driving two hours into the drive. The sun was beginning to set and it stained the clouds red. I glanced around at the leaves on the trees around me, seeing how they were now blended colors of yellow, red, orange. I had arrived in Charming in early July, and now it was the end of August. I hung around this rest area until it got dark before I started to drive again.

At seven-thirty, it was completely dark around me. The lights from the opposite end of the highway glared at me through the glass, but soon the opposite ends separated so that the opposite flow of traffic was completely shrouded by trees and distance. A few pairs of red taillights stood out in the distance ahead, and there was another truck behind me, but they were just a few car lengths behind me.

The highway began a slope to an overpass and the person behind me passed me. I had just gotten onto the overpass when a new truck came out from behind me and rammed itself into the back of the Buick.

"Shit!" I yelled. The truck that had hit me fell back a little but sped back up to slam back into me as I got dangerously close to the edge of the overpass. I turned the wheel back towards the road to try and get away from the edge and the drunken maniac behind me. But my tires were skidding and I was getting closer to the edge and the truck hit me again this time on my side...

The Buick went over the side of the overpass.

I felt the car fall through open air like a terrible roller coaster ride that you hadn't been strapped in properly. I couldn't tell if I was screaming or not. Suddenly, I was slammed forward and my forehead hit the steering wheel, then I went instantly backwards as the airbag exploded in my face.

I came to a little while later, feeling like my car was upside down. Which I realized was the case. I opened my mouth to call out for help but all that came out was a terrible gurgling noise and I could faintly hear the sound of what seemed like a buzz saw. Blue and red lights flashed in my peripheral vision. I was pretty out of it as I felt someone carry me from the wreckage. I blacked out for a time and when I came to again, I was in the ambulance.

The people in the ambulance were talking to me, I think, but to me it sounded like when someone speaks in slow motion. I then felt someone check the pocket with Chibs's name and number. Yes, I thought, bring SAMCRO. And with that last thought echoing around in my banged up head, I slipped into a warm and dark blanket of unconsciousness.


	19. 19: Duke and Julia Moody

A never ending beeping sound was constantly in my ear. I couldn't really interact with anyone. The doctors told me a bunch of technical stuff that I couldn't get a grasp of. My entire body was too heavy to move, and any movement sent me into pain. I couldn't open my left eye at all it was swollen so badly. And my right eye could only be opened a little bit, but still not enough to see properly. So I slept, kept my eyes closed, tried to listen to the doctors and nurses, and accepted the crushed ice whenever someone placed the spoon to my mouth.

The only thing I fully understood from my doctor was that my emergency contacts had been called, including the one on the slip of paper they found on me. So that meant that Chibs and Juice and the rest of the club were on their way by now. Good, I thought sleepily, waiting impatiently for them to show up.

After what felt like an eternity of beeping noises and nurses, I heard the familiar rough voice of Chibs through my closed door and window, and he sounded angry. Then there was my doctor's voice, along with a chorus of other masculine voices that belonged to SAMCRO.

The door banged open and I could glimpse through the slit of my right eye that it was Jax.

"Found her!" He called out. I closed my eye as Jax's footsteps got closer. He sighed and slumped down by my bed. "Jesus Christ, Moody."

"Holy shit," Chibs's voice said from the doorway. I leaned forward a bit, and footsteps hurried towards me fast, and ended with two strong arms wrapping themselves around me tightly. I hugged Chibs back, feeling the tears that hadn't come before now start to form painfully behind my eyes. Chibs's hair tickled my face but I didn't let go: I could hear his breath coming in ragged pants. He had been as scared as I had been. "What the hell happened to you, Moody?"

More footsteps entered the room quickly and with them came a chorus of the word shit, repeated along with gasps and hisses of anger. I felt Jax's hand on my back, rubbing it. Chibs finally released me and I lowered myself slowly back down into the bed, reaching up with my heavy hands to wipe away the fallen tears. A tissue came out from Chibs's side of my bed and dabbed at them, clearing them for me.

"Sirs!" The doctor cried out as he entered the room. "This area is for family _only_!"

"We _are _family!" That was Clay. I felt a hand on my forehead and I opened my right eye as much as I could to see Tig looking down at me, looking more freaked out than I had ever seen him. I glanced behind him and saw Clay facing the angry doctor, Jax had left my side and was talking in a hushed voice to Half-Sack and Opie, and Juice was staring at me with sheer shock in his face. I closed my eye again, wishing that none of them could see me like this.

My heart rate sped up when I realized that Juice saw me. The doctor now fully yelled at my friends. "Sirs! I understand that you are close, fine! But you are causing my patient stress, and I must ask you one last time to leave or I will be forced to call security. You can see her later."

There was a tense silence. But then Clay said, "Fine. We'll be back. Chibs, stay with her." I squinted my eye open and watched Clay lead the way out, followed closely by the others. Juice hesitated before leaving, giving me one last look before disappearing out the door. I closed the eye and groaned, feeling pained in a way I hadn't before.

"You like him," Chibs said. My heart rate spiked again and I looked at him, having to turn my head to fully look at him. Chibs met my eye, his face looking as tired as I felt. "Your heart rate spiked when you saw him and when he looked at you. Ya can't hide emotions when you're hooked up to a machine."

I groaned again. "How long have you known?"

Chibs shrugged. "A while. You started lookin' at him differently when you listened to all his techno talk." He was staring at something in his hands that he was twisting. "Don't feel awkward 'bout it now; I'm sure no one else noticed the heart monitor."

There was a moment of silence where we both stared off into different parts of space. "My parents should be coming here," I said. Chibs looked at me sharply.

"Duke and Julia?" He asked. I nodded but stopped due to the intense pain in my neck. Chibs reached down into his bag and pulled out a rubber pack. He pushed a button on it and began to position it around my neck. I sighed with relief as heat began to soothe the pain-ridden muscles in my neck. "Doc told me to bring that. But back to your parents: Duke and Julia are actually comin'?"

"Yeah," I said. "I assume they have to be. They're on my official emergency contact list."

"You don't know if they're comin'?"

"I wasn't sure if _you _were coming."

Chibs gave me a dark look. "You're apart of us now; when one of us is hurt, we all come. Ya got to stop doubtin' yourself when it comes to your place."

"Force of habit," I said, closing my eye. I heard the door open again and Chibs making a soft, hissing sound.

The doctor's voice sounded. "Um, Mr. Telford, this is Mr. and Mrs. Moody. The parents of Suzanne,"

I opened my good eye and saw my parents. My mom, Julia Moody, was a pretty woman with auburn hair and blue eyes just like mine. Those eyes were eyeing the space between me and Chibs. She stayed standing stiffly by the door with my father, Duke, who wasn't looking at me at all. He was glaring at Chibs. The doctor left the room, looking awkward.

"We saw Clay downstairs, Telford," Dad said. "And now you're up here. Do you want to explain why SAMCRO suddenly has interest in my daughter?"

"She's been helpin' us," Chibs snapped, standing up. "She's been doing what you couldn't and took over for Vince when he died."

"Don't you talk about my brother to me," Dad snarled. Mom glanced at Chibs sharply before looking back at me.

"That can't be true," She said. "You couldn't have gotten involved with those men, the men who were the death of your uncle-"

"You're tryin' to peg Vince's death on us?" Chibs snarled.

Dad took a step forward. "He died for your club, and you can't even take the blame for it."

"Would you all just shut up?" I yelled. The heart monitor went crazy and all three of them shut their mouths. I could see them all looking at me; Dad furious, Mom highly disappointed, and Chibs was the only concerned face I found. I turned my head toward him. "Chibs, could you go tell Clay and the rest that I'll see you guys sometime later? I also need someone to get the Buick and take it back to Charming."

Chibs stared at me for a second before giving my dad one last glare and leaving the room. Then my dad turned to glare at me. "You're not going back to Charming." He said it like a fact, not a request. "You have to come back to Anaheim with us. You told us that after a few months, you'd sell Moody's and come home."

I stared at him, all the old fights coming back to my mind. "Firstly, I'm twenty-two so I can decide where I want to stay. Secondly, I said I'd come home when I get enough money to pay off college dues."

Mom stammered, starting to look like her normal, angry self. "Well, you can't stay there either! Not with those bikers hanging around all the time. That Clay was the cause of all your uncle's problems and he'll be the cause of all yours too."

"Clay's given me a home up there." I said. "Without those men downstairs, I wouldn't have anything there."

"You'd have the restaurant, is that not enough for you?" Dad asked with a sneer.

"The restaurant isn't everything!" I said, my pulse speeding up on the monitor. "The club's been like a family. More of a family than you have ever been." Mom and Dad both glared hot daggers at me; their actual personalities coming out.

Mom stormed from the room. Dad gave me one last look of contempt before following her. I sat there staring at where they disappeared for a long time. Hot tears stung my eyes and I let out a shuddering gasp, trying to hold it back. But eventually there was no holding them back as I sobbed into the pillow. A nurse came in to see what was the matter, but I got rid of her by saying that I wanted some more ice.

Chibs didn't come back for a long time, for which I was glad. I didn't want him to see me this much of an emotional wreck. He came back around dinner time, having just eaten his own dinner. The nurse handed him the crushed ice cup and he scooped me spoonfuls whenever I asked.

"Sack, Jax, and Opie have taken your Buick back to Charming." Chibs said as I slowly chewed the ice. "It was in shitty shape, but we should able to put it back together again." He paused, poking at the ice. "Juice wants to see you alone."

"He what?" I nearly choked on my ice.

Chibs smirked and chuckled. "He's been askin' since your parents stormed out. I only held 'im back 'cause I said that you'd probably want to kill him if he came to see you like this. So I told 'im that when I leave this room in a minute, he can talk to you." He gave me a mischievous smile.

I stared at him with surprise. "Really, Chibs? You could have had better timing when trying to hook me up with someone."

"In that case," Chibs said, placing the cup down on the bedside table and he stood up. "I'm gonna leave and let 'im come in."

"What?" I tried to get him to stop but Chibs ignored me and left the room with one last evil look at me. I shook my head and leaned back. The door opened again and closed, but no one spoke. I opened my good eye and saw Juice making his way slowly over to the bedside. He took the seat that Chibs had just been sitting in. Neither of us spoke at first. Juice grabbed the cup of ice and scooped some into his mouth, but made a grossed-out face that twisted all of his features.

"That's disgusting," He said. "Tastes like death." I laughed without meaning to and Juice gave me a smug look. "I told Tig I could make you laugh within the first five minutes of me sitting in here. I win fifty bucks."

"I'm so glad that my amusement is only worth fifty dollars." I said, giving him a small smile. Juice rubbed his Mohawk and put the cup back. "Anyway," I said, changing the subject. "Chibs said that you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I did. I was wondering what the chances are of you coming back to Charming."

I blinked at him. "Why would you wonder that?"

Juice huffed and propped his feet up against my bed, leaning back and looking fairly relaxed, but alert. "Your mom made a huge point of telling Clay in the lobby that you wouldn't be coming back with us. And I-" He sighed and looked a tad awkward for admitting this. "I was worried that you'd actually leave us."

I looked at him and smiled at him. "C'mon," I said, moving all the way over in the hospital bed. "Get over here." Juice stood up for a brief moment and for a second I was afraid that he'd walk away and leave. But he got closer and squeezed onto the small bed. My side was pressed up against his arm but he moved it so that it rested across my shoulders. Now I fitted nicely with my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not leaving Charming for a long time." I said. "My parents can get over the fact that I like it much better there than with them. The family I've got with the club, is the best family I could've gotten in Charming."

Juice, who had been quiet this whole time and staring off at the space at the foot of the bed, let out a small laugh and kissed my temple, causing the heart monitor to speed up drastically. "Lucky me," He said, pressing his chin on the top of my head.


	20. 20: Superman

My doctor said that I needed a CAT scan to make sure that there wasn't any internal bleeding anywhere and to make sure that my insides were all okay. The only people I spend my time with were the members of SAMCRO that remained: Clay, Tig, Chibs, and Juice. Clay informed that my parents were still hanging around too, but they were refusing to visit until I was alone and that caused the members of SAMCRO to hang around it seemed around the clock.

I was playing cards with Tig when the doctors came in to get me ready for a CAT scan. Tig left to go find the others and one of the doctors put me in a wheelchair and pushed me down the hall and into a large room with the metal bed and tube that was the scanner. The doctor began to open his mouth and explain the process when a crowd of people entered the room after him.

Clay and Chibs led the way with Tig and Juice following close behind them. And right after Tig, Duke and Julia Moody entered, glaring at the SAMCRO men and they stood as far from them as they possibly could. Clay narrowed his light eyes at them and gave them a smug grin. I looked back and forth between these two completely different parties and finally turned to the doctor, signaling him to go ahead and tell me about the scan.

"What the scan is going to do is take detailed X-Rays of your body and we'll be able to tell if there was any internal damage because of your accident." He explained. "It will be a while before the scan is complete so do you have any headphones that you'd like to listen to while you're in there?"

I shook my head and the doctor said that there'd be a sound while I'm there that will resemble the sound of a hammer hitting anvil. He glanced at the crowd of people in the room with me. "Now will be the time to say goodbye, and you'll be able to see your family afterwards." He left the room and my parents followed him. I glared at their backs, angry that they couldn't bury their grudge with SAMCRO long enough to say something.

Clay stepped forward towards me. "Tig, Juice, and I are heading back to Charming right after you go in there. I'm assuming we'll see ya back up home?"

"I'll be there," I said. Clay gave me a smile and hugged me briefly before leaving the room. Tig walked up after him and hugged me as well.

"Let's all hope that nothing's wrong with your insides," Tig said. After he left Chibs walked up and said that he'd stay at the hospital with me. He added a side glance to the large window separating the observation room and the room we were in, where my parents were standing. He obviously hadn't forgotten what I had told him about my fights with my dad. Then he left and it was just Juice left.

"We'll have your car just about done by the time you get home." Juice said. "But you're not driving for quite a while, so get used to the bikes." He smirked and I rolled my good eye.

"So long as my insides are in tact, I'll get on the bike whenever," I said. Juice's eyes flashed.

"I'm gonna hold you to that," He said. "Now get better so that you can come home." We stared at each other for a moment before Juice wrapped his arms around me tightly. I held him just as tight and breathed in the smell of him. Cigarette smoke and laundry detergent had become my favorites.

Once Juice was gone, I was instructed to lay down on the metal bed and to keep almost completely still. The bed moved itself into the tube and it jerked to a stop when it got in all the way. I thought about what condition the Buick was probably in and I tried to imagine Jax, Opie, Sack, and Lowell scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to start fixing it. This led to me thinking about Juice, Tig, and Clay riding their bikes back to Charming. Despite my wariness about the bikes, I would've given anything to be on my way back home with them now.

After what felt like forever, the scan was over and the metal bed began to retract itself from the tube. A nurse came in and helped me back to my room. When I was back into my bed, my doctor and parents came in. I hid my disappointment that Chibs hadn't been allowed in yet, most likely because he wasn't a blood relative.

"Well, Miss Moody," The doctor said. "You don't have any internal bleeding and you seem to be healthy when it comes to the inside." He gave me a smile and left. Mom looked at the place where he left and turned back to me. I noticed that she had an old bruise on her chin; it looked like nothing really changed in Anaheim.

"Telford is waiting for us to leave." Mom told me. It took me a second to figure out who she was talking about. Then I got that it was Chibs. "He says that he won't leave the hospital until you're ready to leave too."

"That sounds like him," I said. "I imagine that he'll be taking me back to Charming."

My mother met my eyes with a blank look. "So that's it? You're really not coming home?"

I leaned forward with some difficultly. "Charming is my home."

My parents glanced each other, giving each other that "I-told-you-so" look that they always seemed to give each other. My mom nodded at me one last time and left the room with her head held high. My dad glared at me. "You'll be hearing from us soon." And he left on that note. I stared after him, wondering what the hell that meant.

Chibs entered the room a little after that and he sat down beside the bed again. He asked what the results were; apparently the doctor hadn't bothered to tell him. I said that my insides were A-Okay and Chibs looked awfully relieved.

"Good then," He said. "I'll let Clay and the rest know later. They should be almost back by now."

"What did the Buick look like?" I asked. "I mean, did you get a chance to see it?"

Chibs chuckled. "Your car was totaled, Miss Moody. The front was all crushed and it's roof was dented it tremendously. It's gonna be a project but I think that the guys at the auto shop will 'ave a field day with it."

"I'm glad something good came out from getting in a wreck." I said. "Do you still have that heat pack that Tara told you to bring?" Chibs answered by reaching into his bag and pulling it out. We got it situated on my shoulders and I sighed in relief as the heat helped soothe the worn out muscles there. "How did everyone else take the news?"

"They were all freaked out of course." Chibs said. "Tara gave me this 'eat pack to give you and Gemma told us to hug you tight for her. I'm pretty sure that everyone already did." I smiled to myself and leaned back again.

The doctor entered about an hour later on Chibs and I playing cards. He said that I could leave in two days; they wanted to make sure I was okay to travel. When he left I looked at Chibs. "How will we be traveling exactly?"

"I don't 'ave my bike if that's what you're askin'." Chibs said. "I brought down one of the vans of the club's." I instantly felt nervous about traveling by car again, but didn't allow Chibs to see. We continued our game of cards until it got dark and Chibs was escorted from the room, the nurse claiming that I needed sleep.

Two days later, I was well enough to leave the hospital. They gave me a wheelchair and I sat down stiffly in it before Chibs swept in and shooed the nurse away. I expected him to walk calmly through the hospital while pushing my chair, but instead he ran me through the halls, yelling at people to get out of the way. I laughed the entire way down to the black van.

Chibs helped me into the passenger seat and we began to drive home. We had just gotten onto the highway and I felt my muscles tighten and I clenched the passenger door's handle as hard as I could. My knuckles were white.

"You okay, Moody?" Chibs asked. I shook my head and tried to focus on the overpass we were on top of. I felt Chibs's hand place itself firmly on my arm and he gave it a comforting squeeze. "You're gonna be fine, Miss Moody." Chibs said in a firm voice. "As long as I'm 'round, you're not goin' to get hurt. Understand?"

I looked over at him. He had his eyes on the road but I could see him look over at me out of the corner of his eye. "I understand." I said, feeling myself relax a bit. Chibs released his grip on me and patted my arm.

"We're gonna be fine," He said, almost to himself.


	21. 21: Monsters

Chibs drove me straight to Teller-Morrow's. We parked and Chibs had to help me from the passenger seat. The sun was setting so the sky was pink and the lot was washed in its dying light. I took a deep breath and felt myself truly relax for the first time since I got into the wreck. I heard my name being yelled and I turned to see Half-Sack running to me.

"You're alive!" Sack yelled before hugging me tightly.

"Who said I died?" I asked. Sack shrugged and he and Chibs took me into the clubhouse.

The clubhouse looked as it always did but this time the whole club was waiting at the bar. When I got into view, they all cheered and clapped and moved forward to say hello. I felt some of the guys clap my back while others went for full out bear hugs. Tig wrapped me tightly in his arms before lifting me off the ground and he sat me down soon after. Gemma walked over and kissed my cheeks lightly before others came to greet me. But there was really one face I really wanted to see.

Juice had been hanging back, obviously waiting for an opening. When everyone got over seeing me out of the hospital for he first time, they thinned their crowd out a lot and began to head back to the bar. That's when Juice saw his opening. He walked past Chibs to get to me and I made eye contact with Chibs. My friend wriggled his eyebrows at me and moved onto the bar. Soon Juice and I were standing together.

"C'mon, everyone's been waiting to see you again." Juice said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back to the crowd. I sat down at the bar and Juice took the seat to my left. He gently prodded at my still sore arm, causing me to flinch a bit. Juice automatically went into a flurry of sorrys and held his hands up in what resembled a gesture of surrender.

"Stop giving the girl further injury!" Tig yelled at Juice.

"And you need to stop yelling in her ear," Gemma said, walking over. "She'll go deaf before she's twenty-four." She handed me a beer, which I happily took. The party was mainly everyone talking to each other and eating the food that Gemma made. I learned all about Bobby's arrest and that he should be coming home in two weeks. This led to Jax telling me about the wild parties SAMCRO held sometimes.

About an hour into the party Tara showed up. I walked over and greeted her myself. "Thanks for telling Chibs about that heat pack. That thing saved my life back there."

Tara smiled kindly at me. "You're welcome. I figured that after a bad crash your joints would be incredibly sore. Are you better now?"

I shifted my shoulders around. "I'm still pretty sore but it's not as bad as it could've been." Tara then began asking a bunch of medical things that I had no idea what any of it meant. Luckily, Jax came over and saved me from Tara's doctor talk by asking if he could have a word with her. I happily let Tara go with him but I wasn't alone for long. Juice came back up to me.

"D'you wanna see the Buick?" Juice asked.

"Jesus Christ, yes," I replied. "You have no idea how much I've been thinking about that car." Juice laughed and led me out of the clubhouse. The sun had set by now and it was dark except for the bright lights overhead. As we passed by underneath them, I could hear the buzzing from the electricity. Juice led me behind the garage and I saw the Buick.

Just like Chibs had said, the front was crumpled where the hood had hit the asphalt of the road underneath the overpass. It looked like a piece of crumpled paper, black, metal paper. The left-hand mirror was hanging off while the right-hand mirror was completely gone. The windshield had also been shattered. I circled around the car, leaving Juice standing by the jacked-up hood. The back of the Buick had been badly dented from where that idiot had rammed into me over and over again. The top of the car was also dented from where it had fallen down onto the top.

The sight of the broken car that my uncle had handed down to me was enough to bring me to tears.

"Hey," Juice said, coming up behind me and pulling into his arms. "I didn't mean to make you cry when you came out here. I'm sorry."

I let go of him and wiped the fallen tears off my face. "I'm fine. It's just, that had been my uncle's car. I've had this thing since I was sixteen. Chibs said it was going to be a project, now I see that the project is more like Mission Impossible."

"You and him were really close then?" Juice asked.

I nodded. "Before Valerie came to be the manager of Moody's, my dad was. My mom worked at the high school so most of the time I'd hang out at the restaurant while they were both busy. And since Vince could do whatever, he spent most of the time keeping an eye on me. That man raised me more than my dad ever tried to."

Juice was silent for a while. He then intertwined his fingers between mine and he began pulling me away from the wrecked Buick. I followed him without arguing, and I remembered what Chibs had said about having some of the mechanics work on the Buick as best as they could. I guessed that I'd just have to hope that the men here could actually bring the Buick back to life.

I walked back to the clubhouse with Juice still holding my hand. Even when we entered, he didn't release me, as I had expected him to. No one really looked up as we sat back down at the bar, and we continued to just sit and talk loudly to one another for a long time. Around eleven, Tara announced that she had to take Abel back home.

"I'll get a ride then, if I can." I said, following her.

"That's fine," Tara said, lifting Abel's carrier. She began to began to head out the door and Jax walked with her, taking the baby carrier from her. As I tried to leave, everyone made another big show of saying goodbye.

"We'll give you updates on that car of yours," Clay said, clapping me hard on the back, nearly knocking me over. Gemma kissed my cheeks again and she and Clay went back into the bedroom area of the clubhouse.

"See ya at Bobby's coming home party, Miss Moody," Tig said. "Though I'll be coming in this week for breakfast." He gave me a sly grin and retreated. Chibs just hugged me tightly and promised that he'd be coming by sometime to check on me to make sure I was okay. I had made it outside when Juice came from behind me and spun me around before planting his lips on mine.

A loud cough caused Juice and I to separate and I looked around in surprise to see Jax standing nearby with a knowing grin on his face. "Well, who didn't see this one coming?" He joked, passing us to go back inside. I felt my face heat up considerably and Juice's dark face seemed to get darker, judging by the light coming from the street lights above us.

"I'll come by later, Moody," Juice said quietly. I nodded and Juice pecked my forehead before heading back inside. I felt my face heat up even more and I got into Tara's car. She didn't say anything, just gave me a look that told me that she saw the whole scene.

* * *

A few days later, I got a large envelope in the mail. I peered at the sending address and was shocked and a tad scared to see that it came from a legal office in Anaheim. I opened up the envelope and read out the letter from the office, signed at the bottom by my parents and the blank line, asking for my own signature.

I sat the paper down on the kitchen counter, not really knowing how to function because of this. I read and reread it over and over again, but no matter how many times I did, the words never changed and it was never the case that I had misread it. The phone rang once, then twice, and then it finally left a message.

"Suzy?" Shelly's voice said tentatively. "I know you're up there it's just that, well, the Scottish man is here tryin' to check up on you, to make sure you're still fine. Ill send him away if you-"

I answered the phone, cutting her off. "Could send him up here, please?" I hung up and put the phone back down on the cradle, feeling a tightness in my chest. A minute later, there was a knock on the door and I answered it to see Chibs looking mighty concerned.

"You alright, Miss Moody?" Chibs asked. I didn't say anything, just gestured at the torn envelope and the papers on the counter. Chibs glanced at me before going that way to read it. I went into the living room and sat down on the edge of the couch. When I heard Chibs's loud curse, I knew he read it through.

He stormed into the living room, holding the papers and looking furious. "Assholes, your parents are! Who d'they think they are, slapping disownment on ya after your crash, after all ya did was stick with the club-"

"It's been a long time coming, I guess," I said quietly from the couch. "And it's not just the club, it's been everything since we moved to Anaheim, just little and big instances stacking on top of each other." My voice cracked and the back of my eyes began burning with unshed tears. Chibs looked down at me with his angry expression, but this time he looked a bit more sad.

"This says that you can still 'ave the restaurant; probably 'cause your dad wouldn't 'ave to deal with it." Chibs said, reading off the papers. "But you're to never go to Anaheim to visit, never to try an' contact them-"

"Could you _please _stop reading it?" I asked, running my hands through my hair. "I've read that thing about a hundred times already; I know what it says!"

Chibs stared at me. He slapped the papers down on the coffee table and he took the seat next to me on the couch. "What're plannin' on doin'?"

"What I usually do," I said through a heavy and shuddering sigh. "I'm gonna run this place, keep the basement open for Clay, and just never speak to my biological family ever again." I finally started crying and Chibs wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into a hug.

"Don' go doin' that, Miss Moody," Chibs said gently, wiping a tear away with his thumb. I let myself lean against Chibs, thankful for his presence at this time. After a while, Chibs sighed and said, "You're like my kid already, Moody."

I pulled away a bit to look at him. Chibs looked back with a dead-serious expression on his face. "I said you're like my kid already; and I think I'm a damn better dad than Duke ever was." He paused. "I'm jus' sayin' that if ya ever want to talk with a good father-figure, my door's always open."

Fresh tears found their way to my eyes and I hugged Chibs tighter than before. He snorted and hugged me back too. "Thank you," I said quietly.

"Anytime, Moody," Chibs replied. We stood up and I signed the disownment papers before Chibs found a big enough envelope and sealed the papers away. "D'you mind if I tell Clay and the rest 'bout this?" Chibs asked as we headed downstairs to the restaurant kitchen.

"They're going to find out at some point." I said grimly. "Might as well be from you." I entered the kitchen with my head held high and began to work on the long-awaited order for SAMCRO, Chibs rushing in to help whenever he was needed.


	22. 22: The League

Two weeks later, my muscles were finally beginning to fully recover. I was able to move around the kitchen and restaurant a lot easier now, but that still didn't mean that every single employee wanted to help more. Hell, if some guys from SAMCRO were coming over, they'd show up early to try and help me.

"What d'you do now?" Tig had asked when he and a member I hadn't really met yet named Happy had come early one day to help. He had been peering at the liquid measuring cup, scooping flour into it. I hurried to stop him.

"You use proper measuring cups, first off!" I exclaimed, shoveling the mountain of flour into an actual measuring cup made for dry ingredients. Happy cracked open eggs at the other end of the island by using a knife.

A few days after that, I was sitting on my computer, watching the whole restaurant through the extra cameras Juice had installed. The only microphone in the place was the one that was at Stahl's booth, so it spend most of its time being turned off. But today, the candidate for mayor, Deputy Sheriff Hale's brother, went ahead and reserved that exact booth. I hadn't been interested in spying on his conversation until the cigar shop owner from across the street entered. He had been accompanied by a rough-looking white man with a particular tattoo on his throat.

Right now they weren't talking about anything scandalous, just about some investment they had with one another. But then the Deputy Sheriff himself entered and sat down. I turned up the volume.

"...I'm guessing this isn't about cigars." Hale said.

The cigar shop owner-Zobelle-leaned forward. "We're a part of the League of American Nationalists, and we set ourselves up in several small towns all over the country."

"And exactly how many black and Latino businessmen are in your organization?" Hale asked with contempt in his voice.

"None," Zobelle said in a matter-of-fact tone. I frowned at the screen. "We're separatists, not supremacists, like you're thinking."

"Is there really a difference?" Hale spat at them. I had to agree with Hale.

"Either way," Zobelle continued. "We are at your disposal if you need us." I saw that he tried to hand Hale a card, but the Deputy Sheriff stood up.

"I'll try not to then," He said before leaving. The older Hale brother excused himself and hurried after him. I shook my head at the idea of a supremacist group in town. I was about to turn off the mike but Zobelle and his guy were still talking.

"I suppose we're gonna need him for later on?" The unnamed man asked, looking at his obvious leader.

Zobelle took a sip of his coffee. "We need to take Charming back from SAMCRO, and the only way we can truly do that is to get the law on our side."

I stared at the screen as Zobelle and his groupie walked out. I turned off the mike and thought about calling Clay and telling him about the meeting I had just witnessed. But then I remembered that Bobby's coming home party was tonight; I could always get there really early and let Clay know then. I had to get there early anyway. Gemma had recruited me to help cook and bake for the party.

* * *

The clubhouse was crawling with crow-eaters and bikers when I arrived with Gemma. She had called and offered to give me a ride, and since the Buick was still in "intensive care", as Chibs liked to put it, I wasn't going to be driving for a long time. Once Gemma parked, she hurried and lassoed me into helping her with the groceries that she had bought before picking me up.

"You sure you've got what you need for those cupcakes of yours?" Gemma asked as we shuffled to the clubhouse doors, which were wide open. A few crow-eaters automatically walked over to the trunk and began to grab grocery bags.

"I'm sure. I just had to double the recipe due to the fact that this could be considered an army." I replied as we got inside. After some harassment from the club wanting something special to be made for Bobby (and the fact that Juice had ratted about the s'mores cupcakes), they were now demanding that I made the s'mores cupcakes that night. And so I got the mountain of ingredients and began to go to work in the small kitchen area off the main room.

I had just put in the first batch of graham cracker bases when I received an audience in the doorway.

"Are those what I think they are?" Juice asked, pointing his nose in the air and pretending to be following a scent trail. I laughed at him along with Sack, who was standing in the doorway with Happy. Happy looked just as stone-faced as normal. "D'you need any help?" Juice asked, grinning at me.

"Of course I do!" I said. "You should already know that."

Juice looked back at Sack and Happy before looking back me with that too-big smile on his face. "Set us to work, Miss Moody."

"Start making the batter then," I ordered, pushing the already mixed dry ingredients towards him. As Juice worked on mixing the two bowls of blended ingredients together, I pulled Sack and Happy into the kitchen, having them spoon the newly mixed batter into the baked bases. I took a step back to observe all three of them working and couldn't help but laugh to myself at the odd sight of three tall and intimidating men baking.

Clay and Jax came up from behind me and stood there watching along with me. Jax was holding in his laughter while Clay looked very amused. Clay glanced down at me. "Good job whipping them into shape."

"Even though Juice is already pretty whipped," Jax muttered. Clay and I glanced at him-Clay was amused while I was sending Jax signals not to say anything else-before I remembered what I needed to tell them.

I told them both everything I heard from Zobelle and the Hales. Clay and Jax were both pretty quiet the whole time. They glanced at each other when I finished.

"We'll keep an eye open from now on, Suzanne," Clay said in his usual growl. "Thanks for letting us know." He had to go talk to Tig so he left, Jax following his lead and leaving too. I went back to my assembly line to make sure they were getting it right.


	23. 23: Boundaries

Bobby was supposed to arrive home in about an hour. A party had already started inside the clubhouse and it had taken all of mine and Gemma's power to make sure that there would be enough s'mores cupcakes for Bobby. We had to resort to locking the few dozen we had left over in the kitchen, where no one could get in. Afterwards, the deafening music and pressing bodies caused me to retreat outside into the semi-quiet.

A few of the club members were out were as well. I spotted Jax and Tara sitting at the picnic table, sitting closely and talking softly to one another. Sack was chatting up a couple of the porn stars who had shown up with Luann Delaney. It looked like he was trying to impress them, simply by showing off the leather on his back. Then again, to the crow-eaters, all a guy needed was a cut and they'd chase after them.

The door opened again and Juice came outside. He made a bee-line for me and leaned against the railing right beside me. "So what brings you outside?" He asked.

"I just needed to get out of there for a second," I said with a sigh.

Juice smirked. "Your passive-aggression is showing,"

I frowned at him. "What?"

"Every time you get kinda pissed, you say 'just'." He explained. I stared at him for a second and he smirked again. "I've been paying attention."

"Well, every time you lie, your eye twitches," I shot back. Juice's smirk was gone and now he was staring at me. "I've been paying attention too." Juice laughed a little and began to say something else but was interrupted by a brown car pulling into the lot. "Is that Bobby?" I asked. Juice frowned and shook his head.

"They would've brought him in one of those government-looking cars." Juice said quickly. "Stay here; I've got to get Clay and the others." He quickly kissed the top of my head before dashing back inside the clubhouse. Jax, Tara, Sack, and the porn stars also noticed the car as the two people inside stepped out.

I stiffened as I recognized Zobelle and his crony. Tara came to stand beside me as the rest of the club came outside, led by Clay. Clay, Jax, Tig, and Happy marched straight up to the two men, all four looking as intimidating as possible. Tara and I moved to a spot where we could see what was happening. The porn stars followed our lead and stayed behind us. We were close enough to see them, just beyond the club members. Juice, who had been standing right next to Chibs, moved back a few steps so that he and I were side by side. Without really meaning to, I grabbed his hand; he grabbed at mine right back.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet," Zobelle said in a very businessman type way. He held out a box of cigars for Clay. "I'm Ethan Zobelle; this is my associate A.J Weston. I just opened a cigar shop on Main Street. I believe you should know it; it's right across from Moody's." Zobelle added the last part with a pointed glance at where I was standing. I felt Juice tighten his grip on my hand and another hand brush against my shoulder. Weston looked over as well and had a physical reaction to seeing Juice and I holding hands. His lip curled and spat on the ground, in my direction.

Clay took a step forward. "Leave my friends out of this." He ordered, growling at Zobelle. "If you have something you want to say, then say it."

Zobelle looked at Clay with a control in his face. "I want you to stop selling guns to all black and Hispanic clients." He said it in such an upfront manner that I had to blink.

Clay laughed in Zobelle's face. Several other members of the club laughed as well. Juice moved the hand that was holding mine back behind his back, pushing me behind him. I realized he was already preparing himself to protect me if a fight broke out. I glanced at the other members and saw that Tig had pulled out his gun at Zobelle and Weston.

Zobelle noticed as well. "Would you really have your man kill me in front of all these witnesses?" He asked Clay.

"Nobody threatens SAMCRO." Clay said simply. "I suggest you leave now."

"My shop opens in a few weeks," Zobelle said coolly. He turned to Weston and jerked his head for them to leave. Weston gave me one last glare full of fury and got into the passenger seat. He said something to Gemma first though, whatever it was, I couldn't hear. Their car left the lot, leaving the rest of us to watch them leave with wary eyes.

An hour later, Bobby came home to open arms, and it was as if Zobelle and Weston never showed up. After he greeted his brothers, Bobby hurried over to where Tara, Gemma, and I were standing. He embraced Tara into a giant bear hug before moving onto Gemma and then me.

"Were they lying or do you really have s'mores cakes made for me?" Bobby asked me as he hugged me tight enough to crush my bones. I confirmed the rumor when he released me. Bobby gave a shout of happiness before rushing inside, where the big part of the party was happening. I waited by the door for Juice to catch up and we walked back in together.

The party was a thousand times more wild than any other party I had ever thought possible. Liquor was overflowing every cup and there were strippers dancing on the pole. Crow-eaters wandered around the clubhouse, either serving beer or walking with a biker or making out with a biker in any position imaginable. I sat at the bar, drinking a beer with Tara as the party raged on. I saw Bobby with two porn stars on the pool table and then Chibs was on the couch with a dark-skinned crow-eater.

"Have you eaten your words yet?" Juice walked up, holding two beers. He took my empty one from me and handed me a fresh one. "You said you went to college parties when I told you about our parties."

I raised my eyebrows at him, impressed. "You really have been paying attention."

Juice smiled widely at me and nudged my arm playfully. I nudged him right back and took a drink. We people-watched for about twenty minutes before a redheaded porn star walked right up to Juice. I narrowed my eyes at her, recognizing her from earlier. She had been one of the girls who had stood behind Tara and me when Zobelle showed up.

"Hey," She said to him, batting her fake eyelashes at him. She glanced at me before turning her attention back to Juice.

"Um, hi," Juice said, looking a little affronted. He also glanced at me, but this time it was more pointed at her, as if asking if she could see where he was at the moment. The redhead reached out a thin, white finger and began tracing Juice's arm.

"My name's Bianca," She said, still tracing his arm and batting her eyes. "I work for Luann over at Cara Cara."

"Good for you?" Juice said, making it come out sounding it like a question. Once again, he moved his head back and forth between Bianca and me, sending the girl signals that she came at a bad time. I straightened in my seat and glared at her.

Bianca looked at me with a curled lip. "Don't see why you'd spend your time with the prude."

"Excuse me?" I asked loudly, standing up now. Juice stood up as well, causing Bianca to be forcefully moved away from him.

Juice put his hand on my shoulder. "Moody, you don't have your bat." He said simply. I glared at him, wishing I did have my baseball bat with me. Juice turned back Bianca. "Back off."

"What?" She asked, staring at him with a sort of vicious disbelief.

"You heard me," Juice said in a low voice, towering over her. Bianca seemed to shrink in her heels and she marched away to go find another guy to sleep with tonight. Juice turned back around to me and sat back down at the bar. "Sit down, Moody."

I did. After he put my beer back into my hand, he swung his arm over my shoulders and held me there, rubbing my ear between his fingers the whole time.


	24. 24: Cara Cara

I was at Juice's house a few nights later. He had invited me over so that he could give me a tour, to make us even for the tour at my apartment, he said. His house was actually big, considering that he lived alone. It had three bedrooms (including the master), two baths, and a pretty large living room. Juice acted just like a real estate agent as he showed me his house, clearly proud of it.

We ordered pizza and Juice began to teach me how to play some of the video games he had. I wasn't surprised when I saw that he had a variety that ranged from war games like _Call of Duty_ to story games such as _Heavy Rain_. Juice put in the first game on the stack that he had-_The Walking Dead: Season One_-and he began to play from the beginning, often forcing the controller into my hands.

"You now have two skills where I suck at them," I said as I got the main character killed by a Walker who had been a babysitter. "I don't think I can get the hang of this."

"You're doing fine," Juice said from his spot beside me on the couch. "Just move the right analog stick faster."

"I'm trying!" I said as the game replayed itself to the moment right before I died. This time I got farther along-before the same Walker got me again. "You see?" I asked Juice, waving my arms as the screen said "You Are Dead."

Juice, for his credit, was holding in the worst of his laughter. "You did get farther that time. And I refuse to play again until you kill it." He gave me an evil smile as the doorbell rang, letting us know that the pizza was here. He rushed to the front door to get it while I struggled to hit the zombie the proper amount of times. By the time Juice came back, I had killed my first video game zombie.

"I survived!" I yelled, throwing my hands into the air victoriously.

Juice laughed and sat back down with the pizza box. "You barely got into the first episode: just wait, a lot more happens later."

"You're not taking over for me?" I asked, glancing at the hot pepperoni pizza that Juice had placed on his coffee table. Juice ripped a slice away from the whole thing and bit into it over-dramatically.

"You just protected yourself and little Clementine," He pointed out. "I think you can continue for a while. Now you've got to pay attention right here. You're about to have to talk to her."

"Alright, alright," I said, turning my attention back to the game. For all his talk, Juice relieved me of my duties as guardian to the little girl in the game so that I could eat. We ate straight from the box, not bothering to get actual plates. I had the feeling that we didn't use the plates because they were all dirty; I saw the pile of dirty dishes in the sink when we walked in the kitchen. But I didn't bring it up, perfectly happy with the set-up we had right here.

The pizza was gone soon and we continued taking turns playing the game. I was getting a lot better, considering every time a Walker came into view Juice would quickly shove the remote into my hand and have me deal with it. I finally killed a zombie without dying first.

"Finally!" I shouted. Juice cheered right along with me.

"It only took you about an hour to get it," He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him and handed him the controller. I watched Juice play the game for a while, both of us quiet. After the game settled down, Juice turned around to look at me. "You know how the club works with guns?"

I nodded, taking the remote from him. I continued what Juice had started by searching for the batteries that another character wanted. "What about it?"

"Jax is trying to move us away from that." Juice said, watching our character move around the screen as I searched for batteries. "Yeah, he wants us to go into porn."

I jerked the character to a stop. "Porn?" I asked, looking to Juice. He was watching the still screen.

"Luann runs Cara Cara; that porn movie business that she's got," Juice said. "It's cleaner money than guns so it's better, and legal way of making money. Clay doesn't want it though."

"Why not?" I asked.

Juice shrugged. "No one really knows why. I think it's just 'cause he doesn't want to lose all the money that comes with guns."

"And why are you telling me this?" I asked, feeling my stomach tighten.

He looked over at me with a serious expression. "I figured that you'd want to know about the business. And I know that you don't get a vote, but I just wanted to know what you thought about SAMCRO going into the porn business."

I paused the game and stared at the screen for a moment. I could feel Juice's warm gaze watching me closely, waiting for my answer. The idea of the porno business was extremely unappealing to me, but, like Juice said, I didn't have a say about it at all. I wouldn't have to be working with Luann and her parade of girls, but Juice would have to...And I kept seeing that Bianca girl following him around everywhere.

Juice nudged my arm gently. "You still in there?"

"I'm here," I said. "And, given the points you gave me, porn seems like a business to go into. Especially after illegal guns."

He stared at me with wide eyes. "You're okay with it?"

"Not really," I said honestly. "But it's like you said: I don't get a say in the matter." I unpaused the game and put the controller into his hands. "It's your turn to look for the batteries."

* * *

The next day, Tara came in for her lunch break. She looked even more stressed than usual and I sat with her at the bar, drinking a coffee while Tara drank her iced tea. After some tense small talk, Tara turned to me and asked what was really on her mind.

"Have you heard about Cara Cara yet?" She asked.

I nodded, swallowing my sweetened coffee. "Juice told me about it last night. I'm assuming that Jax told you?"

"Yeah he did." Tara said. "What did you tell Juice?"

"That although porn is a legitimate business, it's not one I preferred." I said.

Tara looked at me curiously from the corner of her eye. "What is going on between you and Juice anyway? As far as I know, you two aren't together."

"I don't even know what Juice and I are." I told her honestly. "We haven't had sex so if that's what you're wondering, there's your answer. I'm still sketchy as to why he told me about Cara Cara last night, when that seems like the news that a guy would give his old lady."

Tara shrugged, not knowing what to say. I told her about how Bianca hit on Juice while I was standing right there. Tara raised her eyebrows. "He turned her down." I said.

"I hope Jax can do the same if one of those girls did the same thing." Tara said, partially to herself.

* * *

I got a call not even a week later. I didn't recognize the number but when I answered it, Chibs was on the other line. "Hey Miss Moody!" He said on the other end. "I'm at Luann's studio an' she wants to know if she can order somethin' from you and have it brought to Cara Cara."

"So I'm a delivery service now?" I asked.

Chibs laughed. "She claims that she's too busy to leave the shoot. Besides, it'll give ya a chance to see the place."

"I'm not sure I want to see the place, Chibs." I replied. I heard someone yell something in the background.

"Miss Moody your boy's 'ere and he says you better get down 'ere!" Chibs shouted into my ear. I held the phone away from my ear for a long moment before putting it back up by my ear, but Chibs had already hung up. I rolled my eyes but ended up blushing when I realized that Chibs had said "my boy" was there.

Luann called back with her lunch order right before returning to her shoot. I quickly made the food she wanted and got a cab to the studio. I wished desperately for the Buick to be fixed, wanting the privacy of my own car again. I walked slowly to the studio doors, hesitant about going in. But I opened the door and found myself in a frat boy's wild fantasy.

There were different sets that could set up many different scenarios. I spotted a doctor's office, a classroom, and bedroom. I asked a random girl where I could find Luann. The girl told me the way and gave me an odd look, peering at my body. "I hope you're not looking for a job, sweetheart."

I flushed and glared furiously at her. "Hell no!" I said before stalking away from her. I found Luann where the rude porn star said I would and saw that she was standing at a metal chart with a laptop. A camera was pointed at the set right in front of her, which was a law firm-looking place. A man and woman were confronting one another with sexual tension practically dripping off of them.

I walked over to Luann, glancing at Chibs and Juice. They had been sitting on the couch behind Luann, watching the filming with intense looks of concentration. I felt even more annoyed when I saw that they were sharing a large bag of chips. Luann looked away from the shoot to smile kindly at me. She took the bag of food from me and set it on the ground. I began to walk away but Luann grabbed onto my jacket sleeve and held me next to her. I turned my attention to the scene.

The porn star had forced the man to bend over the desk in the set. I looked away awkwardly as the girl pulled the man's pants down, exposing his bare ass. I could hear Chibs and Juice eating from the bag of chips behind me. I completely looked away when the girl started to shove something up the guy's ass. Chibs and Juice were cringing on the couch.

"Cut!" Luann called. "That's a wrap!" The actors began to pull themselves together while Chibs and Juice gave them a standing ovation.

"Bravo!" Chibs shouted. I brought my hands together a few times before shuddering at what I had just seen. Luann turned to me with that friendly smile on her face.

"Thanks for bringing my lunch over, Suzanne," She said. "I'll get your money in a second." She typed some things onto the computer that was on the cart before turning back to me. "I hope you found my studio to your liking." She began counting dollar bills from her wallet.

"Well, I was insulted the second I walked in by one of your girls, but other than that I'm impressed."

Luann looked up at me. She would've been the same height as me, but she was wearing tall heels so she ended up towering over me just like everyone else associated with the club. "Who was it and what'd they say?"

"I didn't get a name." I said. "But she made it pretty clear that girls with my 'body type' weren't good enough for Cara Cara standards."

"Nonsense, Moody," Chibs said from his spot on the couch. "You're good-sized; the girls here are just twigs. No offense to your employees, Luann."

"None taken." Luann said as she handed me the right amount of cash. "Twigs are popular when it comes to this business." She eyed me down. "But there are some categories that prefer girls with more meat on their bones. You've got some muscles on you, Suzanne." She reached forward and poked at my upper arm, where muscle had gotten stronger from years from kneading dough and mixing by hand.

"Don't go getting any ideas, Luann." I said. Luann laughed and I pocketed the money.

"D'you need a ride back to your place?" Juice asked, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout this conversation.

"Considering that I got a taxi to come here, yeah," I said. Juice stood up.

"Chibs, I'm gonna take Moody back home real fast." Juice said. I began to leave with Juice when Bianca entered, wearing skimpy clothes that looked liked they could've been costumes for one of Luann's movies. Bianca narrowed her eyes at me before looking at Juice, practically undressing him with her eyes.

She walked straight up to me and towered over me, her normal height and heels making me miniscule. "Didn't anyone tell you that the girlfriends wait outside like they're supposed to."

I looked over at Juice: he looked as dumbfounded as I felt. Luann marched over and stood between me and Bianca, the angry boss in her coming out. "Where the hell have you been? And where is Ima? You were both supposed to be here over an hour ago!"

"Georgie has been keeping watch on my house." Bianca said. I noticed immediately that her eye twitched: the same exact lying tell that Juice had. I glared at her as she glanced over to Juice. "I know that Georgie is after Ima and me: what happened to Lyla can happen to us! I want protection."

It looked for a moment that Bianca was about to suggest that Juice protect her, but at the last second Bobby walked into the studio. "Um, hey everyone," He said kind of awkwardly. "I'm here to run the books now."

"You _what_?" Luann practically shrieked. Bobby shrugged and walked past her and into the office. Luann followed him, yelling about not needing a book keeper. Chibs joined our group and looked at Bianca.

"I'll make sure nothin' kills ya," Chibs said to Bianca. Bianca stared at him, looking angry but was forced to nod in agreement anyway.

Juice gently grabbed my hand. "In that case I'll be taking Moody home now." He hurriedly began to walk away, bringing me with him. I glared over my shoulder at Bianca, who looked like she wanted to drop kick me with one of those heels of hers.


	25. 25: Territory

Clay came by to visit the restaurant later that day. I was faintly surprised to see him: usually any other member of SAMCRO came. They hadn't even ordered any food, not that that was the sole reason Juice or Chibs would visit. But I let Clay inside the kitchen and he made a bee-line for my office. I set some other employees in charge of what I had been working on and retreated into the office after Clay.

He was already sitting in the chair in front of my desk. I closed the door and sat down opposite of him. It still felt weird to be the one sitting behind the desk with Clay being in the smaller chair. It felt similar to being a teacher and having a parent-teacher conference: the parent sitting in the small chair that was meant for students. The seating arrangement should've been reversed.

"What can I do for you this fine day, Clay?" I asked.

"I'm assuming that you remember Zobelle and Weston?" Clay asked right back.

I frowned. "Sadly, I do remember them. I told you about their little meeting in here, remember?" Clay narrowed his eyes at me. I leaned forward. "I warned you that they want you guys out, and it seems pretty clear to me that now they're going to try and do just that."

"I want you to keep an eye on Zobelle," Clay said as if I hadn't just spoken. "I know you have those cameras up all over the restaurant."

"Only inside," I said. "I'd have to get Juice back over here to install cameras outside."

"Then do it," Clay said sharply. "He'd do it for you."

"And what do you think Zobelle is going to think when he sees Juice installing cameras pointing at his shop?" I asked. "I'll keep an eye on him as much as I can from across the street without being caught, and if he comes in for food I'll listen in on what he says. But other than that, I can't do much."

Clay sighed and nodded. A few seconds ago he looked like how he normally does: tough and confident, ready to go into a fistfight at any second. But right now, he just looked tired and he resembled his age.

"I forgot to ask," I said quietly. "How's Gemma? I heard about her wreck." The memory of my own wreck was fresh in my memory and I was still edgy about getting into cars.

Clay looked up at me curiously. "How did you feel after your crash?"

I shrugged. "I still feel it. I can't stand being in a car for now. And every now and then my shoulders, back, and legs feel really sore." I paused. "Just give Gemma some time. She'll come back around."

He nodded and straightened, looking like his usual self again. "And before I forget, I heard about what happened at Cara Cara this afternoon."

"How?" I asked, shocked that it had already spread this fast.

"People talk," Clay said dismissively. "And I think that Vince would hate it if he knew that his favorite family member was being undermined by a damn porno star."

I felt my face heat up from anger and shame. Clay held my gaze evenly though. "Since you and Gemma don't see each other on a day to day basis, I'm going to give you some advice on how to handle that gash."

Blinking at the use of the word "gash", I stared at Clay. He smiled a bit. "Gemma would tell you to mark your territory. Whatever is going on between you and Juice-I don't give a shit about it-but it makes you look weak if you don't stand up to this chick. So my Gemma-advice is this: next time that the slut tries to undermine you or sleep with Juice, mark your territory and send a message to any other star in there that you're not to be crossed."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. Clay stood up and left, our meeting apparently over. I continued sitting in my seat, thinking about Zobelle, Weston, and my personal problem with Bianca.

* * *

Tara surprised me by knocking on my apartment door that evening. She glanced around my kitchen once before speaking. "Are you going to that party at Cara Cara?"

"Juice invited me but I told him I wasn't up for it." I said.

"You do realize that Bianca is going to be there." Tara said sharply. "And since you won't be there, she'll make a move on Juice."

I blinked at her. "You just don't want to go alone, right? Oh well, just let me grab my jacket and we'll go." Tara drove us to Cara Cara (I didn't enjoy it at all, I was gripping the handle on the door so hard my knuckles were white) and we approached the raging party with caution. When we entered, I saw random bikers everywhere with the stars, but I didn't recognize them as Redwood Originals. And there, sitting on the couches by the door, were Bianca and the Ima bitch I had been hearing about.

Ima and Bianca took four seconds to realize that Tara and I had just entered. They exchanged one look before standing up as one, almost as if they rehearsed it. I heard Tara mutter "Oh no," right before they blocked our way farther into the party.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Ima asked, glaring at both of us.

"Get out of our way," I ordered, trying to make a move around them. But Bianca raised her hand and put it on my chest before pushing me away. I stumbled back a few steps and stared at her, hatred filling up inside of me. For a moment I thought that the red I was seeing was Bianca's hair, but then I pushed that idea out of my head as I grabbed a fistful of that red hair and began pulling her to the wall.

Ima began yelling at me from behind me and I could hear Bianca calling me every bad name in the book, but I ignored all of it as I let go of her hair and forced her against the wall. I held one arm up under Bianca's chin and pressed down, holding her still. She glared at me with hatred but didn't say anything, probably because my arm wasn't allowing her to say anything.

"Lay a hand on me _or _him again," I told her softly so that none of the shell-shocked people around us could hear. "And I will take a pipe and shove it so far up your ass you will be able to _taste_ it. Am I clear, bitch?"

I released Bianca and she slumped down on the wall, glaring at me and rubbing her throat. But she nodded. I backed away and found myself facing Jax, Tara, Opie, and Juice, all of them looking impressed and slightly amused. I saw Ima sitting on the couch behind them all, holding her broken shoe where the heel had apparently been snapped off. Tara was looking proud of herself.

"Remind me to never piss you off," Opie said with a looked of contained laughter on his face. Jax and Tara wandered off together and Juice walked straight up to me. He looked over my shoulder at Bianca and then back to me with a look on his face that I didn't recognize.

Juice slung his arm around my shoulders before steering me away from the scene. "I'm impressed." He said after a while. "And now I know." We sat down together at the bar.

I gave him a look. "Now you know what?"

Juice finally let out that laugh that he had been trying to keep in. "That you just marked your territory."

I stared at him. "Is that a thing that every member of the club knows about?"

"You mean when the girl you're interested in basically chases away any other available females that wander around?" Juice said with a smile. "Yeah, we all know about that." He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against mine. I heard someone wolf-whistling at us, but I didn't pay them any mind. I felt his hands wrap themselves into my loose hair and I too reached my hand up and felt the back of his head, finding the soft tip of where the Mohawk ended.


	26. 26: Now They Know

I got out of the shower to the smell of coffee. I wandered into my kitchen and saw Juice once again making breakfast. He had spent the night again, for no reason other than he refused to leave my apartment again. I smiled at his back as he bent over the stove, making eggs again. Juice took the pan off the heat and I snuck up behind him, resting my forehead on the back of his shoulder.

"Hey," Juice said as he turned around to face me. He swung his arm around me and pulled me tight for a hug. "Good morning, Miss Moody."

"Good morning," I said before pausing with a frown on my face. Juice immediately saw and asked what was wrong. I shook my head. "I just realized that I don't know your actual name. Is that bad?"

Juice raised his eyebrows at me. "That sounds really bad when you say it like that." He cracked a smile, which caused me to do the same. "And it's Juan Carlos, by the way. Juan Carlos Ortiz."

"It sounds weird considering that I've been calling you Juice this whole time." I stated.

"What's your full name?" Juice asked. "I can't remember your first name and I don't think I've ever heard your middle name."

"Suzanne Alaina Moody,"

Juice stuck out his large hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Suzanne Alaina Moody."

I laughed, taking his hand and shaking it. "And you too, Juan Carlos Ortiz. And I see you made yourself breakfast again."

"Yep, you're just lucky that I made enough for two."

I was going to say something else, but the smell of something burning interrupted my thought. I peered at the food Juice had made: none of that was burnt. That just meant...

"God dammit!" I hissed, grabbing the black hoodie that Juice had left on the counter. "I need this for a second." I opened the door and began to hurry downstairs to the restaurant, throwing on Juice's oversized hoodie to hide the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra. Juice thundered down the metal stairs after me.

The back door to the kitchen opened with a snap and I walked straight into a cloud of smoke. Coughing, I waved my arm around to clear some, and nearly knocked out Shelly at the same time. I managed to see that the smoke was coming from one f the stoves.

"What the hell happened in here?" I demanded Shelly. I saw Russ putting out what the fire had been with the extinguisher. Valerie stood just behind, facing the new cook that had been hired around the same time Cherry had been hired. The door opened again as Juice entered, and Shelly's eyes went wide as she glanced between the two of us. She was taking in his hoodie on my body and the fact that Juice was barefoot. "Shelly!"

She snapped out of it. Valerie marched up, looking furious. "I decided to have Joshua work the stove for the morning shift. He left some food on for too long and-well, you could smell the result from your apartment."

From the window I could see some customers standing by their tables and at the bar, trying to see what was going on. I looked back at Valerie. "Tell Joshua it's his job now to air out all this smoke and to scrap off whatever he ruined on the stoves. As for the rest of you, get back to work and make sure that none of the customers are freaked out." Everyone hurried to get to what I just ordered them to do.

Valerie and Shelly were muttering to one another and glancing at me and Juice. I turned away from them and headed back outside, Juice at my heels. We made our way slowly back up the stairs, but when we were halfway there, Juice grabbed my hand, which was half-concealed by the hoodie sleeve.

"Well that was a fun morning," He said. "That and I think your employees have figured out about us now."

I shrugged. "They were bound to find out. I know Valerie won't be happy; she was dead-set on me avoiding the club completely. You especially." We entered the apartment again and I began to dish out eggs. Juice grabbed his plate and cup of coffee, looking very interested.

"Why me?" He asked, but he had a smirk on his face that told me that he already knew the answer.

"Because you liked hanging out here the most," I answered the question anyway. We sat down on the couch and watched T.V while eating.

"Can she blame me?" Juice asked, just swallowing his mouthful of food. "I get free food every time I come up here."

I snorted and pretended to be offended. "So _that's _why you keep coming over." We ate in silence for a while before I continued speaking. "So what's this thing you have to go to?"

"It's a charity run," Juice said. His eye twitched again. Juice glanced sharply at me. "You saw the twitch didn't you?" I nodded and he sighed. "It's club business, but that's all I can really tell you."

"That's all I want to know." I said, raising my hands in a gesture of surrender.

We finished eating and I returned Juice's hoodie to him. He put it on under his cut (I had learned not to call them vests), and he accompanied me back down to the restaurant. I was dressed for the day this time but we still got looks as we passed through the kitchen and into the dining area. I held my head high and Juice ducked to the other side of the bar. He walked around to where I was standing, but now the bar separated us.

"I'll be back in like two days." Juice said. "Try not to beat up porn stars while I'm gone." He smirked.

"I don't think Luann will ever let me back into Cara Cara, so we're good on that." I said. Juice leaned over the bar and I met him halfway. This kiss was not as long as the others we had, but I could tell by it that'd I miss him while he was gone. When we separated, I patted his shoulder and gently pushed him off the bar.

"Go on now," I said teasingly. "Skedaddle. Don't leave the club waiting."

"I'll be back," Juice called over his shoulder as he left the restaurant. His motorcycle was parked out front today. I watched him leave through the glass windows, but my thoughts were interrupted by a blond woman approaching me from the right. I looked at her and she gave me a curious kind of smile.

"I have a pickup for Polly," She said. I looked over my shoulder to where the pickup orders usually sat. Polly's was at the top. As I grabbed it, I could hear Juice's motorcycle driving away.

"Here you are," I said in a friendly way. "Have a good day." I began to turn back into the kitchen but Polly slapped her hand down on the bar.

I stared at her. Polly's face went from curious to frustrated. "I'm curious, but why in the world would you be interested in a _colored _man?"

"Say what now?" I asked, taking a step closer to her. Polly straightened, showing that she was slightly taller than me.

"My father told me about you, saying that you seemed like such a nice girl." Polly said, sounding like a concerned choir girl. "And I'm letting you know that there are plenty of nice men in this town who are _appropriate _for a white girl like yourself."

I looked around to where Shelly was standing. She had heard everything too and was staring at Polly with what looked like horror. I turned back to Polly. "And who the hell is your dad to tell you all of this?"

"Ethan Zobelle," Polly said, sounding proud. "And he's always taught me that anyone with dark skin weren't worthy of someone like us."

I stared at her with anger and disgust. "Firstly, that's sick and wrong. Secondly, you do realize that Juice isn't black?"

Polly shrugged. "Brown is still dark."

I drew myself to full height, which was still shorter than Polly. But she took a step back when she saw the look of fury on my face. "I suggest you take your supremacist attitude out of my restaurant before I throw you out. And if you better not come back in here ever again."

Polly snorted. "Don't worry. I refuse to come anywhere near a place where the owner is sleeping with low-life." She turned with her takeout and right before she opened the door to leave, she turned back around to meet my eyes. "I saw what happened to your kitchen this morning. It'd be a shame if a bigger fire started in here."

She left me standing there, fury rolling off me in waves.


	27. 27: Explosive

I wasn't sure who I should tell about what Polly said to me. Not about the racist remarks about me and Juice, but about the obvious threat about setting fire to my restaurant. Tara wouldn't be able to do anything, but Gemma might, I wasn't sure how but she might be able to do _something_. One thing I didn't want to do was to wait for the club to come back. It made me feel like I was waiting for the men to come home and do my fighting for me.

Polly kept her word at least: she didn't show her face in the restaurant again. But every now and then I would see her and her father throughout those two days without the club, standing outside their restaurant talking to each other, to the people who were interested in their store.

The only person I wanted to talk about _everything _with was Chibs. I could tell him about the supremacist bitch and the threat of arson. He had invited me to tell him pretty much anything when my parents disowned me, and I was sure that this kind of thing was something he'd want to hear. When the club thundered back into town through Main Street, I went ahead and planned on going to Teller-Morrow later that evening.

By the time five o'clock came around, the sun was already starting to sink. I took another taxi to the auto shop, and by the time I arrived I saw that most of the club plus Gemma and Tara were standing outside right by the row of bikes. I heard Tig yell out my name as I got closer and he walked over to hug me. "Missed you, Moody." He said, letting me go.

"I missed you too," I said, walking with him to the rest of the club. Bobby greeted me the same way Tig had, but his hug was tighter and felt like it could crush my bones. Jax and Opie greeted me in a more subtle way, Jax just hugging me briefly and Opie just nodding at me. I was just about to ask where Chibs was when Juice came out from the clubhouse.

Juice hurried over and wasted no time wrapping his arms around me. "I see you missed me too," He said in my ear. I giggled without meaning to and Juice kissed the side of my face.

"Ugh," Jax said rather loudly. "Would you two get a room already?" The others laughed and Juice and I laughed along with them. I finally saw Chibs leave the clubhouse. He walked over to me as well and hugged me tight.

"Good to see ya, Miss Moody." Chibs said, adding a kiss to the top of my head.

"You too, Chibs," I replied. "I gotta talk to you though."

"Okay, I've got to go back a van into the holdin' lot. I'll be right back." Chibs said before heading off to the back where a green minivan was parked. Once he left Juice was right back behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on top of my head.

Gemma immediately noticed and raised her eyebrows at Juice. "You have to wait for the father-figure to leave?"

The others laughed again and Juice added a sarcastic "Ha ha." I felt my face heat up but it wasn't a bad thing. It felt like I was at home.

Tig was beginning to say something when an explosion occurred at the other end of the lot. I looked up just in time to see Chibs being thrown from the wreckage. I screamed along with the others and we all charged at where Chibs had fallen. Clay came out from the garage and we all gathered around Chibs laying on the ground.

A scary pool of blood was forming around his head.

"Oh my God, Chibs!" I yelled, kneeling down and checking his throat for a pulse. It was there, but faintly. From behind me, I could hear Tara calling 9-1-1. The others were yelling and trying to figure out what had happened to the minivan. For a terrifying moment I couldn't tell if Chibs was breathing, but then I saw his chest moving.

The sound of sirens were heard less than ten minutes later. Clay, Jax, Tig, Bobby, and Opie had been trying to set out the fire while Juice, Gemma, Tara and I tried to wake Chibs up. He wasn't budging, and his breathing was becoming labored. The ambulance pulled into the lot. The medics wasted no time getting Chibs onto a stretcher and inside the vehicle. The fire truck that had shown up as well and they put out the smoldering car in no time.

The EMT of the ambulance looked around at us all standing around him. "Does he have any family?" He asked.

"Yeah," Clay said, pushing me forward a few steps. "This one is his. She should go to the hospital with you."

I saw the rest of the club nodding in agreement with Clay's words. I took another step towards the EMT. "Yeah, I'm his." I said, nodding to Chibs being loaded into the ambulance on his stretcher. Fear struck right through me as I imagined the idea of Chibs dying and I felt the back of my eyes burning with unshed tears. The EMT gestured for me to get into the ambulance with him.

"We'll meet you at the hospital," Juice said, brushing his hand against my shoulder. The others agreed. I exhaled deeply and climbed into the ambulance, moving to the far corner by Chibs's head. The EMT got in as well and shut the doors. The ambulance began to drive away as the other EMT began hooking Chibs up to a machine to monitor his heartbeat.

They had put a plastic mask over Chibs's nose and mouth, to help force oxygen into his lungs. I willed him to open his eyes, to regain consciousness. The siren was a distant sound in the back of my mind. I tore my eyes from Chibs to see the EMT glancing between me and Chibs. "What?" I asked sharply.

"You just don't look alike," He said. I glared at him and turned my attention back to keeping an eye on Chibs, making sure he was still breathing.

We arrived at the hospital and I was escorted to a waiting room right outside of the surgery hall. I tried to follow Chibs's stretcher for as far as I could, but the nurses pushed me back into the waiting room. I ran my hands through my hair, fear surging through me.

I paced around the waiting room, I sat down in one of the chairs only to stand right back up again. I felt like I couldn't sit still but at the same time I couldn't just stay in the room and wait. Eventually, after probably forty minutes, I managed to calm myself enough to sit down in a chair and hold my head with my hands. I came back up when I heard the voices of the club.

Clay and Gemma were leading the way and I couldn't see Tara anywhere with them all. Gemma rushed forward from Clay and I stood up as she approached me fast. She ran into me and hugged me tightly, sounding breathless. I held onto her too, grateful for some kind of comfort.

"What's happening with Chibs?" Jax asked the second his mother released me.

I shrugged, feeling out of breath and scared again. "I don't know. They haven't told me anything. All I know is that he's in surgery."

They all exchanged looks and sighed. Clay stepped forward and hugged me briefly, Juice immediately took his pace when Clay sat back down. I buried his face into his chest and breathed in shakily. Juice wrapped his arms around me and led me to the chairs again. Tig sat on table in the middle of the room. And we were waiting for about thirty minutes when the doctor that took Chibs away came through the door.

I launched myself out of my chair and to the doctor. "What happened? Is he alright?"

"Fillip Telford is stable, but he's still in critical condition." The doctor replied, glancing from me to the crowd of bikers behind me. "I have him under sedatives, so he'll be asleep for a while. But I can allow family back there in small numbers at a time."

"Go first, Suzanne," Clay ordered. I nodded and the doctor escorted me through the doors and away from the club.


	28. 28: Lapdog Loyal

When I got into the room that Chibs was being held in, it took all of my strength not to break down in front of that doctor. But right when I was left alone, I let out a shuttering breath and hurried to sit down at the bedside.

Chibs had and tubes sticking out of his arms and another tube wrapping around his ears before meeting right underneath his nostrils. If it wasn't for the constant beeping of the machine, I would've thought he was dead. There was a long, quiet moment where I wasn't sure what to do. Chibs was under sedatives and shouldn't be able to hear me or speak to me. Yet in television and movies and books, this was the part where the relative or loved one would begin to monologue.

I couldn't think of anything to say. So I just grabbed onto Chibs's hand and hoped that he'd wake up soon. But nothing changed.

"Don't go dying on me," I whispered, shaking my head. "Not now." I let out a sob and bent my head.

"Wouldn't dream of it,"

I snapped my head back up right as Chibs was forced back to sleep. But now, he had a small smile on his face.

After an hour, they let the rest of club into the room. Chibs hadn't woken up since he spoke, but I wasn't as worried as I had been. Chibs was as tough as nails: he'd be able to fight his way back. The club weren't able to stick around for long though; Clay had to go make sure that the van explosion looked like an accident.

"Why does it have to look like an accident?" I had asked.

"Because if it doesn't, then the cops will know that 'gang-violence' is going on," Clay explained to me. He left soon after with the rest, Juice leaving last to say goodbye to me. He promised that he'd be back in a few hours to take me home.

I left the room a little after that to hunt down a magazine to read, seeing as I'd be at the hospital for a while. When I returned, I was shocked to see that Chibs was sitting himself up in bed with open eyes. I threw the magazine I had collected on my chair and rushed forward to hug him tightly.

Chibs hugged me back, giving me a peck right beside my ear. "How're you doin', Moody?"

I let him go and laughed in a relieved kind of way. "You barely made it out of an explosion and you want to know how I'm doing?"

"Well gettin' injured is no reason to be rude," Chibs said, laughing slightly. I shook my head at him and thanked God that Chibs was well enough to make jokes. "What was it that ya needed to talk to me 'bout?"

"It can wait," I said immediately.

But Chibs narrowed his dark eyes at me. "If it was important back then, I'm sure it's important now. What was it?"

I told him, hesitant at first but then it was all coming out. Chibs's heart rate on the monitor sped up when I talked about the threat of arson. "Do you think she'll actually try to hurt me because of me and Juice?" I asked.

Chibs looked thoughtful, his eyes narrowed and focused on my face. "I'm not sure 'bout this girl, Moody, but her father wants us gone. If he thinks he can get to us through you, he just might try somethin'."

I felt fear flutter through me when Chibs said this. Would Zobelle go low enough as to attack me in my apartment to get to Clay and the others? I remembered the look of hate in Weston's eye when he saw me and Juice, and the memory of Polly telling me that I could do better. And then Clay had defended me right to Zobelle's face...If Zobelle was desperate enough, I think he would've sent someone after me to hurt the club.

"Should I start barricading the door to my apartment every night?" I asked, only being half sarcastic.

"I say you see if Juice is willin' to let you crash at his place for a bit." Chibs answered with a thoughtful expression. "Or even seein' if ya can live at the clubhouse for a while. If ya explained the situation to Clay, he'd probably let you stay."

"Won't that raise a flag to Zobelle though, if I just pack up and hide away for a while?" I asked.

"Ya said that the daughter hasn't been in the diner since it happened, so maybe they won't notice." Chibs stopped and a smirk crossed his face. "So the girl really told you that there were better guys than Juicy?"

I nodded, scuffing the floor with the toe of my shoe. "Apparently 'brown is still dark', and that white guys are the best." I said with a short laugh.

Chibs laughed as well. "I'll be honest with ya, Miss Moody: if you were goin' to end up with any of the members, I'm glad it was Juicy that got attached to ya."

I blinked at Chibs, surprised at his sudden honesty. "Why do you say that?"

He looked at me with a serious look, his eyes becoming a bit glazed over from the effects of the drugs kicking in again. "Because if any of those men are goin' to treat a girl right, it's Juice. He's lapdog-loyal. And you can't really see it now, but I can tell that that boy is already very fond of ya. I've seen him starin' at you quite a few times; it's not a secret much anymore."

I was beginning to think that Chibs was no longer in control of what he was saying. He slumped back into his bed, his eyes looking slightly dazed from the fresh wave of drugs he was getting. I gently pushed him down into his bed, a tired groan coming from him. Chibs didn't even say anything else before he fell back asleep. When Juice came back for me an hour later, I thought of everything Chibs had said about him.

"Did he wake up?" Juice asked as we walked side by side downstairs.

"Yeah, for a little while," I said, thinking about the meaning of the phrase "lapdog-loyal".

Juice gave me a side glance. "Did he say anything important?"

I looked up at Juice. He was looking back at me with a concerned expression on his face. I smiled at him, "Not really. He was pretty drugged up." The idea of Chibs being drugged up was apparently hilarious to Juice, because he smiled in a way that looked like his smile was too big for his face.

* * *

The next day I got a call from Gemma telling me to meet her at Cara Cara. I really didn't want to go back to that place, but I went anyway. When I arrived, Gemma was hanging up a poster on a wall while Tara watched. I walked over to Tara and stared at Gemma, curious as to why I was there.

"You two are considered old ladies now," Gemma announced as she marched back over to us. I exchanged a glance with Tara. Gemma rolled her eyes and continued, "Tara, you're with my son and you're raising his son as if he were your own. Suzanne, I'm not sure if you and Juice have shared the same bed yet, but you pretty much pissed all over him at the porn party, or so I hear. So you're considered an old lady as well."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised but still feeling very proud of myself for achieving the title of old lady. Gemma reached into her purse and pulled out a hand gun before pushing it into my hands. Tara pulled out her own gun from her own purse.

"Don't look so surprised, Suzanne," Gemma ordered. "You've got to learn how to use one of these in case you need it."

Did Clay tell her about Polly's threat of arson? I had told him in the company of the rest of the club, and they had all reacted in a physical way. And that was why I now had Sack hanging out in the kitchen with me during the day, Clay assigning him to tail me and make sure that I wasn't contacted by Zobelle or his daughter. Juice had been angry that Clay hadn't assigned him to tail me, but Clay had shot back that Juice had more useful things to do. I wasn't sure what that meant and I didn't ask.

Both Gemma and Tara helped me line up the shot by aiming at Ima's newest movie poster. I missed the target completely the first time, the kick in the gun sending a jolt of pain though my arms. But after using the skill that Juice had taught me in those video games, I managed to get the target on my eighth try. It wasn't where I was aiming, but I hit the poster.

Ima pulled up in her car a little while after that, while Tara was taking her turn. I made eye contact with her before giving her the most innocent smile I could muster. I turned back to the poster and shot the poster-Ima's chin. Tara turned and aimed at the tires of Ima's car. Ima yelped and ran inside as fast as her six-inch heels would let her as Tara fired at the tires.


	29. 29: Never Do Better

Insomnia struck me later that night. I had tried to visit Chibs again, but he was under drugs the whole time and didn't get to wake up this time. I was leaving the hospital at around midnight when my cell phone rang. I looked down at the caller I.D and saw that it was Gemma's number. Upon answering it, I was completely shocked to hear the thickness in her voice, as if she had been crying.

"Gemma what happened?" I asked immediately.

"The club..." Gemma started. "Clay, Jax, the others, they've all been arrested."

I stopped walking and felt my stomach drop. "All of them? Juice?"

"Yes," Gemma said, confirming my fears. "Except for Opie. He managed to get away. Are you coming to the clubhouse?"

"Most definitely," I said, holding back my emotions. Once I hung up on Gemma, it took everything in me to keep my cool as I rode in the taxi back to Teller-Morrow. When I arrived, the auto shop was dimly lit by the street posts, and Tara's car was already in the lot. I paid the taxi driver and hurried into the clubhouse, where Gemma, Tara, Piney, Opie, and a collection of random bikers and crow-eaters were gathered.

When I came into view, Tara scooped me into a big hug. I looked over at Opie, who looked shaken and worried. "What happened?"

"We were told that Zobelle and Weston would be at a meeting up at some church." Opie began to explain. From behind him, Piney would downing a beer. "We went in loaded with firepower; we expected it to just be some League leaders. It was a _family church _event."

I stared in shock at him as I imagined how the scene went down. Opie continued, "Someone-not us-fired off a few rounds and everyone panicked. The cops were there before we could even get out of there."

"How'd you get out?" The crow-eater Naomi asked in a hushed voice from the sidelines. Gemma shot her a glare to silence her.

"I was sent to chase after Zobelle and some girl," Opie said. "They got away and when I got back, they were all being loaded up into the truck."

My head had snapped back to Opie when he mentioned the girl. "Was the girl blond? Short hair? Just a little taller than me?"

The others looked at me curiously, Gemma had a look of confused horror on her face that I was worried about, but Opie nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know that?"

"That's Polly Zobelle," I said. "She's the one that talked about arson in my restaurant." Gemma and Tara exchanged a glance that I didn't understand.

After the general shock and fear settled down, the crow-eaters wandered off and Piney told Tara and I that we could stay at the clubhouse for the night. But Tara had to go take care of Abel. I, however, hurried back to Juice's room, completely willing to stay at the clubhouse for the night. Gemma told me that she'd call Rosen, the lawyer of the club.

Juice's bed smelt of him, but there was another scent that I picked up on his pillow. Vanilla extract...? A smell that I could only really smell in my own apartment. The thought that Juice had been hanging out with me enough to pick up my own scent was very comforting.

* * *

Rosen had all of the crow-eaters and random bikers leave the main area of the clubhouse so that he can speak to Gemma, Tara, and myself. I sat down right beside Gemma and she put her hand on min, patting it a few times. Rosen took us all in before speaking.

"The bail has been set at three million," He said bluntly.

"Each?" Tara asked.

"For all of them," Rosen said. I leaned back in the seat, putting my hands over my face. Where the hell would I get all that money, even if there was a bail for each of them? I was already swimming in college dues (which were barely even halfway paid), and hospital bills from the wreck. Now this.

"What will happen now?" I asked.

Rosen looked at me sympathetically. "Well, unless bail is posted by two weeks, they will all be sent to Stockton. If the bail is posted, then there will be a court hearing in a certain number of days after their bail. But if they can't get that three million dollars in two weeks, they'll be sent straight to their hearing and to Stockton."

I exchanged a glance with Tara as Rosen bid Gemma goodbye. She looked as lost as I felt.

* * *

Shelly came into my office a few days later, saying that someone wanted to see me. I left the safety of the office and walked into the dining area, to where I was surprised to find Polly Zobelle waiting for me at the bar.

"May we sit, Miss Moody?" Polly asked.

"Don't call me that," I snapped, stalking over to a table and sitting down heavily. "You have a lot of nerve coming back in here after what you said and what your dad did to the club."

Polly scoffed as she sat. "Your club are in their position because they charged blindly into something they clearly have no knowledge about. And I didn't come for my father I came for you."

I stared at her. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"To see how your jailbird was doing." Polly said. "I told you that you could do better."

I rolled my eyes at her. "You seriously came all the way across the street to judge who I spend my time with? Look, your concern is infuriating and your ideas of race is sickening, and I don't need your all-white thoughts in my face. So if you've said what you need to say, you can leave."

Polly eyed me down, still looking painfully polite. "I'm giving you the advantage of leaving the fray early. Because believe me when I tell you this: there's going to be a war between the Sons of Anarchy and the League. You just ended up on the wrong side."

"I think I'm on the right side," I snapped. "And you have no right coming into my establishment and judge my friends and family. So I'm telling you one last time: get the hell out of here and never come back."

Polly leaned forward. "You talk a big game, but you're defenseless without the Sons. And they're in prison. Who is going to protect you now if something goes bump in the night?" She got up and left and I stared after her.

If I wasn't afraid about the League before, I most certainly was now.


	30. 30: Let Me Breathe

I spent the night in the clubhouse again that night. I hated the idea that I was showing Polly and her dad how scared I was of them, but unless I planned on getting attacked tonight, I was a lot safer in the clubhouse.

The next morning, Piney had gone to his family cabin and Opie was running around doing business for the club the next morning. That left me with Gemma and Opie's two kids, Ellie and Kenny. The kids were doing some homework at the bar when my cellphone rang. When I answered it, a message automatically began.

"Hello," A robot-man voice said in a cool voice. "A prisoner from Charming County Jail is attempting to contact you. To accept this call, please press one." I did, hoping for Juice's voice on the other end.

"Moody?" It was Tig.

"What's happening in there?" I asked instantly.

Tig chuckled. "Not even a hello?" He coughed, getting serious really fast. "Long story short, Moody, we went to some extremes to get protection in here and Juice got caught in the crossfire."

"He's not dead, is he?" I asked, my voice barely going above a whisper.

"What? No, no, he just got shanked in the back." Tig said. I exhaled and leaned heavily against the wall. I struggled to catch my breath while Tig breathed softly into the phone. "I thought you'd want to know."

Ellie and Kenny were giving me curious looks so I retreated into the club chapel. "Just promise me something, Tig. Just _try _to get everyone out of there with no more injuries. Between Chibs, and now Juice, I don't know how many possible deaths I can handle."

Tig was quiet for a while before he answered. "I'll do what I can, hon. And I'll make sure to bring Juice back home in one piece."

"I'd be grateful," I said, smiling to myself despite the recent events. I looked at the time on the clock mounted on the wall. "I've got to go: Chibs should be awake by now and I have to be there."

"Go hug that maniac for everyone, Moody," Tig said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll call you again if anything else happens." He hung up.

When I told Chibs about what happened to Juice in jail, he looked about as stressed as I felt. "I hate this." He said, glaring at his hospital bed. The doctor had wrapped a load of gauze around Chibs head, so that it completely covered his forehead and the back of his neck. I could tell that being in this hospital was stressing him out more than anything else. And his doctors just kept dosing him up with more drugs because they thought that his increased heart rate was him getting stressed from visitors.

"I know, bud," I said. "I've been there, remember?"

"Vividly," Chibs said with an impatient sigh. He wasn't meant to lie down all day. "At least you got to leave after a few days after your scan."

"You were blown up," I tried to reason with him.

"And you fell off a damn overpass!" Chibs said, his heart rate speeding up on the machine. He glared at it until it slowed back down again. "I think they're just findin' excuses for me to stay longer."

"Conspiracies in hospitals? Now you know you've been in here for too long."

Chibs rolled his eyes at me. "D'you know when the Buick will be ready?"

"Nope," I said shaking my head. "Lowell is refusing to let me see it until it's ready." Chibs snorted. I began to tell him the new conversation I had with Polly, and he understandably flared up again.

"Next time this girl steps into your restaurant, crack that bat of yours over her head."

I laughed out loud at the scenario in which that would play out. "Oh yeah, and then deal with the Zobelle family from a legal standpoint? I think I'll just wait for her to actually make a move, that way I can claim self-defense."

I hung out with Chibs for another hour before I was kicked out so that he could get his meds. Chibs gave me a very pointed look when the nurse's back was turned. Valerie already knew that she was in charge of the restaurant for the night so I called a taxi and rode to Tara's, where she and Gemma were watching over Abel as well as Ellie and Kenny.

Gemma greeted me warmly when I arrived. "Finally! We could use your cooking skills. Ellie found us some ingredients for spaghetti." I made a bee-line for the kitchen and began to get everything ready for spaghetti.

"How's Chibs doing?" Tara asked with Abel on her hip. Ellie was helping me by making sure I got all of the hamburger meat browned evenly.

"He's pissed that he can't help out anymore." I said.

Gemma huffed from where she was drinking wine at the table. "I don't blame him. I'd do the same if I was stuck in a hospital all day."

I began to get the water boiling and added some salt and vegetable oil to it. Ellie stared at me funny for doing that, so I explained that the oil didn't let the noodles stick to the pot and the salt helped the water boil faster.

"You learn something new every day," Gemma said, now holding Abel while Tara went to the bathroom. "Do you know what happened to Juice, Moody?"

I sighed. "Tig called and updated me. He said that he felt like I should know."

"Good guy, Tig," Gemma said. When the food was ready the kids ate it up, looking happier than I had seen them in a long time. Gemma said that it probably was the first time they'd been properly happy since Donna died. She handed me Abel and I felt very awkward holding him.

"Have you never held a baby before?" Tara asked, looking curious from her own plate of spaghetti at the table. Gemma raised her eyebrows at me.

"It never came up," I said, feeling as if I was carrying an awkward, moving bundle. Abel looked at me and touched my face with his little hand. It was really warm and slightly wet from the water on the outside of his bottle.

"He hasn't started crying yet, so let's just assume that he likes you." Gemma said bluntly. "Have you thought about kids, Suzanne?"

"Not really," I answered honestly, beginning to rock back and forth out of some instinct that I hadn't been aware of. "I mean, I haven't thought about them for a long time."

"That's wise, I guess," Tara said. "Wait 'till whatever you have with Juice is one hundred percent defined and then you guys can figure it out." She paused to take another bite of spaghetti. "This is fantastic, by the way."

"Thank you," I said as Abel let out a little baby noise. He opened his mouth wide into a smile and any awkwardness I felt about holding this little baby disappeared. I caught Gemma smiling at me from her seat and I walked Abel into the living room where Kenny and Ellie were eating their dinner and watching the Disney channel. Soon though, Abel was beginning to fall asleep in my arms so Tara showed my how to put him to bed properly.

Ellie and Kenny were getting tired so I helped Tara make a nest for them on the couches while Gemma did the dishes. Opie's kids were laying out on their couches when there was a knock at the door. Tara excused herself from me and went to answer it.

I heard a soft voice from the door and I walked around the corner to see who it was. I was surprised to see Lyla, one of Luann's girls, standing on the doorstep. Lyla made eye contact with me for a brief second before going back to Tara. Gemma came from over my shoulder to keep an eye on our new visitor.

"Porn girl here came for Opie's kids," Tara explained to us shortly. I narrowed my eyes at Lyla, immediately not trusting her.

"I was going to go pick up my kid from my mom's," Lyla said. "I told Opie that I'd take them all out for dinner."

"We already fed them," I said shortly.

"You should go get your own kid," Gemma added. Lyla glared at all three of us before turning away towards her car. Tara slammed the door shut and whipped around to Gemma and me.

"Is he out of his mind?" Tara snarled. She marched off and Gemma and I exchanged a glance before heading back into the kitchen to finish cleaning it up.


	31. 31: Disobey Authority

The next day was about as uneventful as it could've gotten but that afternoon I got a call from Gemma, and she sounded happier than ever. "They're getting out. Oswald posted the bail for all of them."

I had quickly disappeared into my office and let myself slump down in relief. They'd be coming home for now, and there'd still be a trial, but they'd be coming home. All of them.

Gemma, Tara, and I met at Teller-Morrow, for the men would be dropped off here. I anxiously shifted my feet; it was finally beginning to get cold now. Gemma noticed my obvious chilled self and wrapped her arm around me, using the other arm to wrap around Tara.

"I guess Anaheim doesn't get very cold, considering your shivering at only sixty-four degrees." Gemma said to me.

I snorted. "Yeah, Anaheim is barely ever cold. But I like this, it's just gonna take some getting used to." Tara nodded in agreement, pulling her coat around herself a little bit tighter.

The black, government van pulled into the lot and a guard from the front seat got out of the van without a second glance at the three women standing by the bikes. He walked around to the back of the van and opened the doors. Jax was the first one out, and he looked pissed off and beat up. Tara inhaled sharply and covered her mouth. Jax walked right past us without a second glance and went into the garage. I looked back to the others, and they walked right into the clubhouse.

Tig glanced over at us briefly before following after Clay. I scanned the rest of group of SAMCRO members looking for Juice, but he wasn't there. A fluttering feeling of fear jumped into my chest and for a terrifying moment I thought that Juice had been left behind. Gemma patted my shoulder and she led both me and Tara into the clubhouse. Tara continued to look over her shoulder to the garage, where Jax was.

The chapel doors were shut tight when we entered the clubhouse. Gemma sat us all down out the bar, bringing out beers and opening them. We waited at the bar for a long while, waiting for the chapel meeting to be over. I wanted to know where Juice was, why Jax was avoiding the rest of the club. After about thirty minutes, the doors finally opened and Clay made a bee-line for Gemma.

I scanned the club again, trying to make sure that Juice was with them. But he wasn't there. Tig walked over to me and pulled me aside from the others. I didn't say anything, just looked up at my friend with the most concerned face I could muster.

Tig had his arm slung around my neck, keeping me close. "Sorry that Juice isn't here now, Moody." Tig said, turning us around so that our backs were to the rest. "His condition was pretty bad so they took him straight to St. Thomas."

"He's there now?" I asked, the image of me racing to the hospital immediately coming to my mind.

"He should be," Tig said. "They packed him up before us."

"That's all a needed to know," I said, ducking out of Tig's arm and beginning to leave the clubhouse. The other members watched me leave, nodding as I walked past them. I quickly hailed a taxi and got a ride to the hospital.

The lady at the front desk recognized me, that's how many times I had been visiting. "Oh, hello Miss Moody. Are you here to see Fillip Telford?"

"No, actually I'm here to see Juan Carlos Ortiz," I replied. The nurse checked the file and looked at me with wide eyes.

"I'm afraid you can't see him right now," She said in an overly polite voice. "Due to the fact that he was just released from jail, the hospital has put a forty-eight hour wait for any visitors. To make sure he's safe to be around first before they let anyone in."

That sounded like bullshit to me. I narrowed my eyes at her and the nurse ducked her head at me. "If you want you can still visit Mr. Telford. He might be asleep but he would welcome any visitors."

"I think I'll do that." I said, leaving the lady at the desk and going for the elevators. I had no idea which floor Juice would be on, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try and see him. I got out of the elevator on the second floor, making a long sweep of the entire floor before going up to the next floor.

I didn't find Juice until the fifth floor. There weren't any guards outside his door but I found him through the small window in the door. Unless there was another Hispanic, twenty-six year old with a Mohawk and tribal tattoos on his head, then I was positive that it was Juice. I opened the door slowly, and then fast.

Juice's head snapped up when I entered. That giant smile of his spread across his face and he sat up fast. A loud groan escaped his lips and I hurried over to him. "Ow," He mumbled as I hugged him tightly. I loosened my grip on him, easing him back down into his bed. "I meant that in a good way."

"How did you manage to get stabbed in the back?" I asked, once he had settled back down into bed.

"I don't know who, but he came up behind me and stabbed me in the back twice," Juice held up two fingers. He paused, his dark skin turning a little darker. "Are there any other questions about my time in there?"

I stared at him. Juice went from looking happy to see me to looking embarrassed. I tilted my head at him. "No. What else happened in there?"

Juice swallowed. "Um, well, I had to take one for the club and be bait. And that was right before I got shanked."

"Bait for what?" I asked.

"To get protection we had to do a favor for the blacks, get them a rat." Juice paused, his face getting even darker as he blushed. "And that rat had a thing for, and this is a direct quote, 'buff, brown boys'."

I stared at him for a second before the weight of what Juice was saying sunk in. "So you got raped by a big, black man?"

Juice looked affronted. "No I did not! I was bait and nothing happened. He just tried to grab my junk." He stopped when he saw the look on my face. "You're laughing at me!"

"I'm not laughing," I said, my voice cracking with the contained amusement. "I'm just trying to picture this." Now a laugh escaped me. Juice stared at me and playfully hit my arm.

"I get grabbed at by a big, black guy and you're laughing?" Juice asked but he was laughing too. "Now I see how it is."

"I'm sorry," I said, pretending to wipe away a tear from my eye. "Is there anything else that I should know about? Anymore black guys or maybe some Hispanics?" By now we were both laughing hard. I was sitting on his bed and Juice had sat up enough so that we were leaning on each other. Now that I was up close to him, I could see that his hair had begun to grow back just a little bit. It was barely noticeable but tiny spikes of new hair lightly covered his head. I grabbed his head and rubbed my thumbs over the prickly new hair.

"This is what happens when I don't get to shave every other day." Juice said, reaching up and grabbing my hands. He pulled my hands down to his mouth and he kissed my knuckles lightly. "And now that we've discussed the events that got me in here, I have a question for you now. How the hell are you in here? I know I'm not supposed to have visitors."

"I may or may not have looked around 'till I found this room." I said with a shrug. Juice grinned widely at me.

"Awh, you disobeyed authority for me." Juice said, looking touched. "I'm so proud." I laughed at him and he smiled that oversized smile of his at me. He reached out to rub his finger along the top of my head. "Your hair is getting lighter up there."

I reached up at my scalp and pulled the long hair away a bit to see the blondness that was appearing. "Yeah I should probably get it redone."

"I kinda want to see what you look like blond," Juice said curiously. He reached up and pulled gently at the hair again, to get a good look at the hair up there.

"I look like my dad when I'm blond," I said. Juice looked at me.

"Is that why you went dark?" He asked. I shrugged. "In that case I'll stifle the curiosity and you can remain dark."

"Thank you; you're such a gentleman," I said sarcastically. Juice snorted and glanced at the digital clock across the room. I followed his gaze and saw that it was way past visiting hours. "I should be leaving. They think I'm in Chibs's room and visiting hours are over."

Juice looked like he wanted to argue but he nodded in agreement. "Come back the second these forty-eight hours are up. I don't want you to get in trouble with the hospital." He grabbed my face in his hands and pulled me in for a kiss. He kissed me deeply and I did the same right back. I hadn't realized how much I had missed that taste in his mouth until we pulled away from each other.

"I've missed you so much," I muttered, not really knowing what I was saying.

Juice met my gaze firmly and gave me a small smile. "I missed you too, Moody. Now skedaddle." I laughed at that and left his room, hesitantly. Juice waved goodbye from his bed, looking a lot happier than he had looked when I entered.


	32. 32: Pros

Two days later, I was sitting in Chibs's room, waiting for him to wake up. He was on less drugs than usual and he was taking his own naps now. I had brought my laptop with me this time to keep myself busy. The last time I visited he spent the whole time sleeping and I had been bored silly until he woke up. And besides, I had work on my laptop that needed to be done, employees to be paid.

Chibs mumbled something that sounded like "shithead" in his sleep. I had soon realized that Chibs would talk in his sleep, often cussing or speaking random phrases in Irish or saying the names of his wife and daughter. I never told him that he talked whenever he slept. It felt like something far too personal for him. The door creaked when it opened and I looked up from my laptop to the woman now standing there.

She was a tall, black woman with beautiful curly black hair. I saw the shock of white that barely touched her hair, and it seemed to make her look even more impressive. The stranger stared at me with narrowed eyes before they locked themselves onto Chibs's sleeping form. The moment she saw him, her eyes softened.

"I take it as you know him," I said awkwardly. The woman's gaze hardened as she looked to me.

"That I do," She said in a thick, Irish accent. "I'm his-I was his wife."

I stared at her. "Fiona," I said blankly. "He told me all about you."

Fiona narrowed her eyes at me again. "He did? Why would do such a thing?"

I shrugged, beginning to feel a little out of place. "He kinda unofficially adopted me a little while ago. That and he's brutally honest." Fiona was still looking at me like she couldn't trust me. "He also told me about what happened to you and Kerrianne." I added gently. "About how he still loves you two very much."

Fiona's gaze seemed to soften again and she looked back down to Chibs. I got to my feet and closed my laptop. Fiona eyed me cautiously.

"I'm going to go visit another friend of mine who's in here." I announced. I gestured to the chair behind me while giving Fiona a small smile. Fiona understood immediately what I was implying and she returned my smile and gave me a nod. We walked past each other as she took my seat and I left, hoping that Chibs would wake up soon so that he could have some time with his wife.

I was allowed to see Juice now. When I arrived, he was slouched down in bed staring at his T.V with a glazed over expression. But he seemed to snap to attention when I entered. I glanced at the T.V: the Saturday morning cartoons were on.

"Your hair is even longer than last time," I said, putting my laptop down on the side table to run my hands over Juice's scalp. It was prickly with the dark hair growing there. What I found amusing was that the stretch of hair where the Mohawk ha been was still there and it was longer than all the other hair on his head. I could still see the tattoos, but faintly.

"I need to shave it off!" Juice said impatiently. "The doctor won't let me have a razor though."

"Maybe it's because you're a con and he's afraid you'll shank him."

Juice rolled his eyes. "Oh please. I wouldn't be able to shank him even if I wanted to. Which, by the way, I'm debating because of the crappy diagnosis he's giving me. They won't let me know when I can leave!"

"You and Chibs are the exact same," I said, shaking my head. "Both of you can't stand sitting in a bed for more than five minutes."

He wriggled his eyebrows at me. "Well, if you got into the bed with me, I'd find my stay here a lot more tolerable." He moved over as far as he could and patted the spot next to him. I laughed and settled myself in beside him. Juice threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me even closer to him. Juice inhaled deeply and when I glanced up at his face, I saw that his eyes were closed.

"What're you thinking about?" I asked him softly. Juice's eyes opened just a fraction before he shut them again.

"If you must know, I was just thinking about how you smell like vanilla. Like cookies."

I smiled to myself. "Cigarettes and laundry detergent."

Juice opened his eyes to give me a weird look. "What?"

"That's what you smell like." I replied, closing my own eyes. Juice was quiet for a moment before laughing.

"You smell better than I do, then,"

My eyes were still closed but I could feel his hands grabbing mine, twining his fingers into mine and stroking my palms with his fingers. I opened my eyes just a little bit to see his face staring at our hands. I looked down at them and didn't think twice about the contrasting colors of brown and white pressed against each other. I didn't see what Polly and Zobelle and Weston saw.

"Did that Zobelle girl really tell you to find someone better than me?" Juice asked quietly. I had filled him in on everything Polly had said. I leaned closer into him and held his hands just as tightly as he was holding mine.

"Yes," I said. "But I'm telling you this: that even if I wanted to, I would never find anyone better than you." Juice gave me a doubtful look, the same look he had given me when I was in the hospital and he had thought that my parents would take me back to Anaheim. "I'm serious. I have never met a guy who is a computer genius yet also looks like he could crack skulls with his bare hands. You're smarter than anyone I've ever met and you are probably also the nicest."

Juice gave me a small smile. "Oh stop it, you,"

"That and you have great taste in television," I added, nodding up to where the T.V was showing reruns of Tom and Jerry. "You practically introduced me into life with SAMCRO."

"That was Chibs, really,"

"Would you shut up and let me point out all of your pros," I asked, throwing him a look.

Juice narrowed his eyes at me and sat up. "Then let me return the favor." He looked up at the ceiling, as if trying to decide where to begin. "First thing's first, you're an amazing cook. Like I don't think I'd ever eat out anywhere else if I could keep getting food from you. And you're smart too, not when it comes to hacking into stuff, but you taught me a lot about baking that I didn't realize existed. And despite the fact that you're incredibly nice and sympathetic, you're no afraid to slap complete strangers to keep them from ruining your food."

I tried to interrupt him by opening my mouth, but Juice saw and slapped his hand over my mouth and continued. "I've never seen anyone earn the club's trust as fast as you did. Clay was willing to let you in after you agreed to let him use the basement. I find the fact that you enjoy people watching to be incredibly adorable, and I'm saying this now that I think you're beautiful when you start doing your job, because you lose yourself in it and you really love what it is you're doing."

Juice removed his hand from my mouth. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. Juice blinked and met my eyes evenly. "That's only a fraction of your pros. I could write a list and it'd take me forever to finish it."

I stared at him. "You really think all of that?"

He nodded, looking like he didn't know what to say now that he had vented to me. "I really do. Now what?" I shook my head, at a loss of what to say next. Juice understood and rested his chin on my head. He tightened his fingers around mine, and although I couldn't see his face, I knew he was staring at our hands. He sighed and I felt his breath rustle my hair up on the top of my head. "Can I say another fact?"

"Go ahead,"

"I really like you being with me."

"I really like being with you, too."

"Moody,"

I looked up at him. Juice looked really nervous but he met my eyes anyway. "You know that I'm falling for you, right?"


	33. 33: On Your Side

I was playing a round of cards with Chibs when Jax entered. "Hey, Jackie boy," Chibs greeted him. "You came just in time to watch me kick Moody's ass for the third time today." He slapped down his cards on the dinner tray attached on his bed that we were using as a table. I stared in disbelief at the row of cards that came from him.

"Seriously, you have to be cheating," I said, watching as Chibs scooped the small pile of gum, spare change, and a few loose dollar bills towards himself. I glared at him, which earned me an evil smile from Chibs. Jax watched from the doorway, looking slightly amused but also very sad. I drew myself up and looked at him. "What happened?"

Chibs looked over to Jax as he let out a breath. "Luann died"

It felt like a ave of icy cold water was thrown all over me. I remembered Luann back when she and I were on a talking basis, and I felt immediately for not having spoken to her recently. Chibs had the same expression on his face that I had on mine. "How?" He asked.

"She was beaten to death, and found on the side of the road." Jax said with bitterness in his voice. I covered my mouth and shuddered as the image came into my mind.

"Jesus Christ," Chibs whispered.

Jax looked at me. "Moody, d'you think I can talk to Chibs in private?" I nodded immediately and hurried out, leaving the two men alone. For a minute I just stood outside the room, not knowing what to do. Luann was gone, when was the last time I had seen her? I remember she was obviously upset with me when I dropped off her lunch after I slammed Bianca into the wall. Bianca had nasty bruise on her jaw from me and according to Luann, I had messed up her money maker.

I had started walking without knowing it. I was halfway to Juice's hospital room. Making it the rest of way to Juice's room, I knew he'd want to know everything I had just heard. When I entered, I immediately saw that Juice's tattoos were no longer visible, his hair had grown out so fast and thick. As usual, I sat down on the edge of his bed and rubbed the hair.

"You've become obsessed with my head," Juice commented, closing his eyes and allowing met to scratch his head. "That feels really good."

"You're like a dog," I said as I scratched his head right behind his ear. "And how do you know I haven't always been obsessed with your head?"

"Well, you've never mauled my head whenever you saw me before."

"That'd be considered inappropriate," I finished with his hair and broke the news about Luann. Juice stared at me with wide eyes.

"God damn," He muttered. "Did Jax say if he knew who did it?"

I shook my head. "If he does, he didn't say it in front of me."

Juice grabbed my hands and rubbed them between his own, as if he was trying to warm them. He sighed in a tired way and looked back up at me. "Who do you think did it to her?"

"Maybe Zobelle and his crew?" I suggested. "But Luann's an old lady, and her husband is in prison. It's not really the best person to kill to send a message."

"You'd be surprised at what lengths some guys would go for their old ladies." Juice said simply. "But you're right; if they were going to send a message to us, they would've picked a better target."

"Like Chibs," I muttered, thinking about the minivan exploding. Then I thought of another car that had exploded... "Vince's car exploded."

Juice blinked at me. "Yeah, I heard. So?"

"Zobelle was sending a message with Chibs, but that was a loose target. It could've been anyone taking care of that van. But what if someone, just a few months ago, before I got here, was trying to send the club a message through Vince?"

Juice looked thoughtful. "That might've been it. But I thought Clay told you it was just an accident."

"And Clay also had a smug look on his face when he told me." I said. "If he and Vince were as good of friends as everybody says, don't you think he would've looked a little more upset about his best friend's death?" Juice frowned at me like he was thinking along the same lines as me, but he didn't say anything. "Was there anything particularly bad going on a few months before I got here?"

Juice shrugged. "Nothing as bad as Zobelle. It was pretty much just normal boundary stuff." His eye didn't twitch, so I knew he was telling the truth. "And honestly, I don't remember your uncle much. I met him I think just twice before he died. But Clay was a wreck when he got the news. I remember that he locked himself into the chapel and wouldn't anyone but Gemma in."

The thought of Clay being that upset was completely foreign to me. "And you guys have no clue who would've caused it?"

"No, and if Clay did, then he's never told anyone. Not even Tig."

I stayed with Juice for another hour, giving Chibs and Jax time to talk. When I got up to leave Juice, he smiled at me. "Your skills of going back and forth between us are fantastic, by the way."

"Thank you," I said before kissing him lightly. As I walked towards the door, Juice slumped back down into his bed with a grin on his face.

Jax was gone when I arrived, and Chibs looked very stressed out in his bed. "What happened?" I asked, not sure if I'd get a real answer.

"My insurance lapsed." Chibs answered shortly. "I'm gonna be moved to another hospital that my insurance will cover."

I stared at him. "But if you're moved than you'll be away from the club."

"I won't be able to be protected!" Chibs exclaimed, his dark eyes flashing. I sat down next to his bed as he began panting. "If Zobelle could nearly kill me inside the clubhouse, imagine what that bastard could do when I'm far away from the club." He was completely freaking out. I hurried and reached out to his face, struggling to calm him down.

"I'll talk to Tara, maybe she can pull some strings-"

"Tara's the one who gave me the news, Moody!" He was full out gasping for air now. I widened my eyes in shock as I realized that he was having a panic attack. Chibs was gasping for air and sitting straight up in his bed. I glanced at the machines and then to the door, but for some reason, none of the nurses were coming.

I sat down on the bed with Chibs and put both of my hands on each of his shoulders. "Look at me, Chibs." I said in a steady voice, and Chibs met my eyes, still shaking and panting. "Now breathe, okay? Try and match your breathing with mine." I took in a deep breath and Chibs did the same as much as he could. I exhaled, and he did the same. We continued doing this for a few minutes until I heard his heart monitor slow down to normal speed.

I let go of Chibs and sat back down in my seat. Chibs remained where he was sitting, staring at me. "How the hell did you learn that?"

"I read somewhere about panic attacks and how to stop them." I replied. "I guess it came in handy."

"Hell yeah, it did." He fell back into his bed and sighed deeply. "I don't know want I'm gonna do 'bout the hospital, Miss Moody. I can't go anywhere else without the club, and my damn insurance won't let me stay 'ere."

I shook my head, just as clueless as Chibs was about his current situation. "I don't know, Chibs. You could try and stay here longer, but I don't know how you'd manage that. Get yourself hurt some more?"

Chibs glanced at me sharply. "No, but you gave me an idea." Before I could ask what he meant, Chibs started yelling at the top of his lungs. I jumped out of my seat. Chibs heart rate sped up from his screaming bloody murder and _now _the nurses rushed into the room.

"We need you to leave," One of them told me strictly and they practically manhandled me from the room. I kept my eyes locked on Chibs as he continued moaning and yelling about the pain in his head. Right before the nurse slammed the door in my face, Chibs winked at me while keeping his charade up.

* * *

Chibs was released a few days later after the doctors decided that he was fit enough. The club was waiting in the lobby when I walked in to visit Juice. Clay nodded and smiled kindly at me and I remembered how Juice had said he had fallen apart after Vince's death. Maybe being blunt was Clay's way of coping with his best friend's death.

You could tell when Chibs was nearby because he practically surfed on his wheelchair down the hallway to the lobby. Jax was pushing the wheelchair, chasing after it whenever it left his grip. The hospital employees glared at them and the rest of club, muttering about how they were disturbing the other patients. Happy let out a cheer when Chibs leapt out of his wheelchair and into the crowd of bikers. I made a move to edge around them: there'd be time to hang out with Chibs later.

"Moody!" I stopped walking as Chibs yelled out my name. I turned around to face the club and Chibs jumped forward, looking happier than I had seen him in a long time. Chibs roughly grabbed my face and kissed the spot right between my eyes. He released me and turned back to his club, but he called over his shoulder at me. "Love ya, kid!" And then he left the hospital with the others.

I began walking through the hospital halls, blindly heading for Juice's room. I got into the elevator but before I could exit, I heard a man's voice talking. I risked a glance through the doors and saw that right outside of the elevators there was a doctor looking stressed out and talking into a phone.

"I know what Zobelle said but I legally could not hold him here any longer." He said into the phone. "I have to release Ortiz tomorrow." There was a pause. "Why? Because I _legally _cannot keep them here any longer! Unless Ortiz gets worse, I have to release him." The unknown doctor looked up and realized the elevator doors were open. I quickly smashed the close door button and the doors began to slide close before the doctor could see me standing in there.


	34. 34: In My Veins

I stayed with Juice as long as I possibly could that day. I didn't tell him what I overheard, I didn't want him to worry or attack his doctor. Knowing him, he'd probably do either. His hair was completely grown out now, and it looked odd on him considering the middle strip that had been his Mohawk was still there and was longer than the rest of his head.

"At least we know where to shave it later," Juice said with a shrug, rubbing his hair. "Which reminds me, my doctor said I can leave tomorrow. So that means we can hang out anywhere else than this cheerful place." He told me with an overdramatic glance at his blank room.

The next morning, Juice was fine. Nothing bad had happened to him over the night, and I didn't see that doctor again. The thought of a fake doctor went through my mind but I pushed it back, just happy that Juice would be released. The club was bringing him home from the hospital just like they did with Chibs. It was late afternoon when Juice came pounding on my kitchen door, his head freshly shaven and the Mohawk making it's triumphant return.

"If you want, you can still maul my head if you want." Juice said, bending is head down and offering it to me. I laughed and pushed his head back up, trying to keep his hair away from the dish I was making. "Maybe later," He said with a shrug and stealing a kiss right in front of my employees.

I heard Becca "awh," as I gently pushed Juice off of me. "Be appropriate," I said to him.

Juice rolled his eyes. "Fine; I'll be as inappropriate as I want to tonight." I turned red as he said this and the employees around us snickered. He left after that, having to get back to the clubhouse for church.

Valerie walked over to me with a knowing smile on her face. "How long has _that _been going on?"

"Not long," I answered. "How long has that been going on?" I asked her, nodding at Russ. Valerie's dark skin turned darker but she smiled.

"Not long,"

* * *

I had just finished eating dinner that night when Juice came pounding on my door. I opened it for him and he pushed me inside and shut the door behind him, wasting no time in locking it behind him.

"What's that?" I asked, but I was interrupted as Juice turned back towards me and rammed his mouth onto mine. I was taken aback for only a moment before I kissed him right back. Juice pushed me through the living room and towards the bedroom. We separated for a second while he began lifting his shirt from his body. "This is forward," I muttered, beginning to unbutton my shirt.

"I've been in jail _and _in the hospital," Juice explained breathlessly as he met my mouth again. "This is subtle." My shirt was off and on the floor now. I instinctively reached down and began to help him unbuckle his jeans for him, as Juice struggled to undo the hooks to my bra with one hand on the hooks and the other hand tangled into my hair.

I fell backwards onto the bed and let out a small shriek, not knowing that I'd be the one to fall. Juice took this time to kick off his pants and he began to work on my own pair of jeans. I laughed at the look of concentration on his face, which caused him to laugh right back at me. The pants came off and Juice jumped right into the bed with me.

* * *

I laid down right next to Juice. He had his arm wrapped tightly around me, his fingers rubbing my earlobe. I pressed my face into his bare chest and breathed him in. He smelt like how he always did, but his head had smelt slightly minty from the shaving cream he said he used to shave his head. He looked down at me and moved his head down until it became buried into my neck.

I let out a sharp giggle at he kissed my neck, nipping it slightly. Juice laughed into my neck, his hot breath causing my neck to feel even more ticklish. He moved up again and sat up a bit, so that he was practically hovering over me. He kissed me and licked my lips, as if he was trying to get the last bit of jam from the back of my throat. Then Juice collapsed back to the spot right next to me.

"If that was subtle," I said, still breathless. "Then I can't wait to see what forward is."

Juice laughed through his teeth. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time." He said, almost to himself.

"Does this make me officially an old lady?" I asked, slightly teasing him. Juice turned his head to look at me.

"Yes. Yes it does, so don't go planning on going anywhere any time soon." He said with a smirk. I laughed shortly.

"Out of all of vacation options I have? That's gonna be hard to promise."

"Oh shut up," Juice said, using his mouth to silence me. I could feel his smile through the kiss. He separated from me and backed up a little bit, to get a better look at me. "God, you're beautiful."

"That's you," I said.

Juice snorted. "No, I think you're the pretty one in this relationship." He smiled so big that his eyes were nearly shut. He reached forward and began twirling a lock of my hair around his finger. His eyes went from playful to dead serious in a heartbeat. "I swear to God I'll never let anything happen to you."

I stared at him. "Where'd that come from?" I asked quietly.

Juice sat up in the bed, rubbing his head. I sat up as well, more slowly. He looked over his shoulder at me, cautiously, as if not sure what to say. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "What happened now?"

"Gemma got attacked the night of Bobby's party," Juice answered slowly. He was avoiding my gaze and staring at the bumps under the sheets that were my feet. "By Weston and few other of Zobelle's group."

"She got attacked?" I repeated.

Juice met my eyes slowly. "She was raped by them, to get us to stop selling guns to blacks and Hispanics."

I exhaled and fell back into the bed. "That was months ago; no wonder she's been so unnerved."

"Clay told us at church." Juice continued. "And the only thing I could think of was, what if it had been you? Zobelle was right across the street, it could've happened while you were home alone. And that Polly coming over two times to pretty much warn you to distance yourself from us." He cut himself off and shook his head.

I sat up in bed again and leaned back against the headboard after pulling Juice back with me. He let me guide him back and he rested the back of his head on the wall behind him. I rested my head on his bare shoulder and exhaled, not even able to begin imagine what Gemma had gone through. What Clay and Jax were going through right now.

"You know I'm falling for you, right?" I asked. Juice looked down at met my gaze.

He gave me a small smile and pressed his forehead against mine. "Then we're even," He said softly.


	35. 35: Old Ladies

I was in my office the next afternoon when Shelly entered, blushing ferociously and she let me know that Chibs was waiting to talk to me. I told her to let me in here, staring at her bright red face that clashed with her pale blond hair.

My door opened again and I saw why Shelly would be blushing that hard. Chibs, whom Shelly had a not-so-secret crush on, wasn't wearing a shirt underneath his leather cut. I could only imagine Shelly's face when she saw him walk in through the doors.

"I take it as you haven't done any laundry in a while," I suggested, nodding to his cut. Chibs rolled his eyes.

"Your hostess nearly dropped the glasses she was holdin' when I walked in." Chibs said. "I take it as I've still got it." He stretched his arms and leaned back in his chair. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes and he resumed his normal position in the chair. Chibs's face slowly turned into an expression that looked like sadness.

I leaned forward. "What is it?" I asked softly.

Chibs met my eyes and exhaled. "You know my Fiona and Kerrianne?" I nodded. "They're in danger. That man I told you about-the one who took them from me-he could hurt them." Chibs's voice cracked and he rubbed his hands on his face almost violently. "Stahl knows and she offered me a deal."

"Chibs," I said, staring at him. Despite the fact that I had only been invested in the SAMCRO life for only a little while now, I knew perfectly well that to make a deal was a death sentence. "You didn't?"

Chibs's eyes got watery when he looked at me.

I got up out of my chair and sat down right beside Chibs. He let out a sob that sounded like it was ripped from him and I hugged him tightly, just as he had done for me when I was this vulnerable in front of him.

"I told 'er, I'd give 'er intel on the club if she'd protect Fiona and Kerrianne from Jimmy." Chibs explained, his chin resting on one of my shoulders. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and another torn sob escaped him.

"You have to tell the others," I said. "Clay will understand if you explain that Fiona and Kerrianne are in danger. And you haven't made the deal yet, have you?"

Chibs shook his head, looking at me as if he had never seen me before. "I'll do that, Moody. Clay won't like it, but he will understand. Thank you, kid." He grabbed my face again and kissed the spot right between my eyes again. "Thank ya for ev'rythin',"

I looked at him. "You're welcome." Chibs released my face and patted my hair.

"Despite the fact that he's an asshole," Chibs said quietly. "Duke did a damn good job raisin' you." He got up and left me sitting there, feeling stricken.

* * *

The hammering on my door told me that Juice was back. I opened it and pressed my hand against his chest. "If you came here for another night, I have to work. So come back later." Juice raised his eyebrows at me.

"I'll keep that in mind but we're going on lockdown,"

I stared at him. "Lockdown for what?"

"There's a fight going on tonight and Clay said that in case Zobelle decides to fight dirty, we need to get all of our family and friends to the clubhouse for a lockdown." Juice explained while speed-walking around my apartment with his empty backpack, throwing stuff of mine into it. He went into my bedroom and opened up some drawers before throwing some random articles of clothing into the bag.

"If I have to pack then let me do it!" I exclaimed. Juice tossed me the bag and left the room, I watched his figure leave, thinking about what I had seen under those clothes two days ago. Juice caught me looking at me and he cocked his head at me.

"You can undress me with your eyes when we're finished," Juice said with a smirk. I shook myself out of m haze as Juice laughed loudly from the bathroom. He was collecting my shampoo and toothbrush. I finished packing up some clothes and looked over to Juice as he tossed my bathroom things into the bag.

"How long will I be staying at the clubhouse?" I asked, staring at the packed bag. Juice shrugged and shouldered the backpack.

He reached out his hand and wiggled his fingers. "C'mon. And this time when you spend the night, I refuse to be sleeping on that couch again."

"I can live with that," I said, turning off lights as we walked past them. We climbed down the fire escape and walked into the restaurant kitchen. Juice had parked out front and I had to alert Valerie that she'd be in charge until I got back.

Valerie took the news just as I had imagined. She glared at Juice and pointed a finger at him. "You keep this girl safe. If she comes back with a black eye or a hair out of place, I'll fry your brown ass on that grill over there." Juice risked a glance at the grill, where it was making sizzling noises from the burgers being slapped down onto its hot surface.

We exited the restaurant through the front door and made it to where Juice's bike was parked out front. I took the backpack from Juice's shoulder, throwing it onto my back instead. As Juice mounted onto the bike, I got the feeling we were being watched. I looked around until I looked across the street to Impeccable Smokes. Polly Zobelle was standing outside, staring at Juice and me with a single, raised eyebrow.

I lifted my hand and raised my middle finger at her, shrugging as I did it. Juice snickered as he handed me his helmet. I put the helmet on and hopped onto the bike, a lot easier than my first time. Juice made the motorcycle roar to life and it pulled smoothly out of the parking space and we flew past Impeccable Smokes.

The lot was jam packed with people. I saw people I had never seen before and the crow-eaters and the girls who used to work for Luann. Bianca, Ima, and Lyla were standing by each other, wearing tight and skimpy clothes. Juice pulled into his spot by the other bikes and I noticed that all of the other bikes were all in their spots. The three porn stars, who were standing right next to the bikes, all gave me different looks. Bianca with hatred, Ima with jealousy, and Lyla with a guarded expression.

Juice and I got off the bike and Juice took the backpack from me and swung it around his shoulders. He saw the three porn stars and looked back at me with a smirk. "Let's not go beating them up, Moody."

"I push one against a wall, and you'll never let me hear the end of it." I said. Juice shrugged and grabbed my hand before leading me to the into the clubhouse. I could feel Bianca's glare burning into my back, but I ignored her. The clubhouse was nice and cool inside, and it was filled with even more bikers and other family members and friends. I saw Sheriff Unser standing at the bar, talking to Gemma.

The chapel doors were cracked and I could see some men already in there. Juice saw them too and looked down at me. "I might as well get in there. Here's your bag and you can take it to our room. I'll see you before we leave." He gave me the backpack and kissed me before going to the chapel. I found myself smiling and went back to Juice's room to drop off my stuff.

When I came back out, Tara and Abel had arrived. I made a bee-line for them and greeted them. Abel let out a loud baby noise when he saw me and Tara laughed. "Looks like he missed Aunt Sue." She paused and looked at me. "I hope it's okay if I let him call you that."

I picked up Abel from his carrier and held him close. "It's great." Abel touched my face and made a sort of gurgling noise that sounded like he was laughing. I smiled at him and patted his back. The doors to the chapel opened again and he club marched out of their meeting. Clay led the way and climbing on top of a nearby chair to make himself seen.

"Everyone! Listen up!" Clay yelled from atop his chair. The other club members separated to stand in the crowd, Juice and Jax coming right towards Tara and me. Jax smiled at me and took Abel from my arms. Juice moved over to right beside me and pressed his side against mine. Clay looked at everyone around him, at all of the people who had come inside to listen to him.

"You're all here because we're all family, each and every one of us." Clay said. "And SAMCRO protects their family. What we're going through the next few days, we can't have our family in danger. You'll all be safe here, we have guards at the gates and if any of you see a security issue, just talk to Piney here." Clay gestured down to where Piney was sitting by the pool table. "If there's a comfort issue, you can talk to my old lady, Gemma." He pointed to where Gemma was standing by Unser. Clay stepped down from his chair and there was a scattered applause.

Juice looked down at me. "We're leaving now." He said shortly. He grinned wickedly. "Wait for me."

"Don't I always?" I joked, getting on my tiptoes to kiss him.

"Break it up, you two!" Chibs yelled at us as he walked past. He shooed Juice away and kissed my forehead. "See ya soon, Moody." He and Juice then walked off, Jax going with them. I watched them leave but soon after the thunder of leaving motorcycles left, Gemma approached me.

"I went ahead and bought some groceries for you, in case you wanted to make something." Gemma told me.

"Thanks," I said, already looking towards the kitchen where I could make out the bags of food. "I'm going to see what's in there." I left Gemma and went into the small kitchen. I began to open up some of the bags and pull out what was inside. Gemma had just bought normal groceries but I would be able to make enough food for the army of families I had outside.

I walked back to the bar to see if there was an oven out there: there was, a small one, but it was an oven. I began to head back to the kitchen when I noticed Lyla sitting at the bar with a little blond boy who looked a lot like her. Lyla met my eyes and offered me a small smile, which I returned.

I received help in the kitchen from Gemma and a few other crow-eaters, who kept offering me beer even though I said that I didn't want any. Gemma explained that because Juice and I were a thing, the crow-eaters would start showing me the same respect they showed Gemma or Tara or even Luann.

"So this is what being an old lady feels like," I said to myself. Gemma smiled at and nodded.


	36. 36: Unnecessary Risks

The club had only been gone a few hours when they came back, dragging a familiar face with them. I stepped out of the kitchen as Tig led the masturbating man-Chuck, I think his name was-towards a table right beside the kitchen entrance. I stared in horror at his hands: all of the fingers except the index ones were gone, replaced by burned stumps that barely reached off of his actual hands.

Jax yelled for Tara and I ducked back into the kitchen where Ellie, and the crow-eaters Kristy and Naomi were helping me. "Who's out there?" Ellie asked me, spying the new face. I stood in her way to keep her from seeing the stumps.

"Just a friend of the club," I answered. "How're your sandwiches coming?" I asked, looking over her dirty bond head to where she had been making all kinds of sandwiches for the residents. Ellie smiled up at me.

"Great!" She exclaimed, looking very proud of herself. I noticed then that Ellie had Donna's eyes. I walked past the eleven year old to get some ice packs out of the freezer. Quickly, I wrapped them up into a paper towel and went back to where Chuck was sitting. Tara was holding his wrists, turning them this way and that, trying to figure out what to do with them.

I sat the ice packs on the table with them in case they needed them. Tara smiled thankfully up at me and began pressing some of the ice packs down on Chuck's enflamed stubs.

Clay nodded at me. "Good call," He muttered to me. I straightened up at the compliment and headed back inside the kitchen. It looked like sandwiches that Ellie had been working on were just about finished. Kristy and Naomi were microwaving green beans and boiling water for some pasta. I started to bag up the sandwiches and after I was finished, Chuck's hands were all bandaged and it seemed like Tara was giving a diagnosis.

"Hey Ellie," I looked down to Opie's daughter. "Why don't you go take them all some of your sandwiches? I think they look pretty hungry, don't you?"

Ellie looked very enthusiastic to help. She nodded very fast. "Yeah!" Ellie grabbed an armful and hurried out of the kitchen to bring sandwiches for the club. I noticed that she went straight to Opie to give him his sandwich.

"D'you want us to go to everyone else?" Kristy asked me. I nodded, tossing the sandwiches into the basket and giving it to the two crow-eaters. That left me alone with the boiling water and steamed beans. I had just put the pasta noodles into the pot of boiling water when I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me and someone's chin rest on top of my head.

"What're you making?" Juice asked.

I smirked. "Pasta and green beans for now. There'll be more stuff later."

"And why are you making it all right now?"

"Because when people get bored, they think they're hungry." I explained, grabbing his hands with mine. "I'm making sure that they don't feel hungry. No offense to the club, but there's not a lot of things around here that keeps kids entertained."

"You've done a good job keeping Ellie entertained." Juice noted, letting go of me and moving to the side so that I could see him. "Honestly I think _this _is the liveliest Opie has seen her since Donna."

I sighed and looked up at him. "She wanted to help. So that's what I'm letting her do, and I'm glad that she found something to do that keeps her attention. Cooking is a good stress reliever."

"Or in her case, making sandwiches for an army." Juice said, looking out the window to where Ellie was jogging from person to person, making sure that everyone was eating.

"When there's a better time, I'll bring her to Moody's to show her how to cook some more. But for now, sandwiches." I said. The microwave beeped and I opened it as a giant cloud of steam burst out. I carefully took it out as I realized that Juice was staring at me with a small smile and an expression I couldn't read. I met his eyes and grinned slightly. "What?"

Juice smiled. "I was just thinking." Whether he was going to tell me what he was thinking or not, I would never know because Opie entered the kitchen, his height seeming to take up all the space in the small room.

"Juice," Opie said bluntly. "We're heading out." Opie looked at me and for a moment, his gaze softened. "And, um, Moody I just wanted to tell you thank you, for Ellie I mean."

"You're welcome, Opie," I replied. Opie nodded, looking awkward and ducked back out of the kitchen. Juice turned to me and kissed my face before I could fully react.

"See you when I'm back, Moody," He said quietly.

"I'll be here," I said just as quietly. And with that, Juice left the kitchen to where the club was waiting.

* * *

Gemma and Tara left the clubhouse so that Tara could go to work and Gemma could buy more groceries. Gemma left me with precise orders to be the old lady in charge and to make sure that the crow-eaters kept everyone happy and that no fights broke out. Before I could even agree Gemma had left.

I had left the kitchen with Ellie, Kristy, and Naomi. The pasta and beans were ready and I had quickly whipped up some leftover pork from Moody's. There was a line going to the kitchen door where Ellie would bring food to whoever was at the door. Kristy and Naomi would make the plates and give them to Ellie.

"That's quite a setup," Chuck said as he walked up to me. He stuck out his bandaged hand with the index finger pointing out. "We never were properly introduced. I'm Chuck, or Chucky, or Charles if you're fancy."

I glanced at his extended finger before wrapping my own index finger around it and shaking his hand that way. "My name is Suzanne, though most people call me Moody."

"Can I call you Sue?" Chuck asked, releasing my finger and looking delighted that I had shook his hand that way.

"Why not?" I asked, giving him a kind smile. Chuck met it and turned back to the line of people waiting for food.

"I miss cooking," He said with a sigh. I raised an eyebrow at him and Chuck shrugged. "I used to do it all the time: I'd have to stop a lot to wash my hands though, but it was still fun. But now I kinda can't do much in the kitchen." He said sadly looking down at his two fingers.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, Chucky." The door to the clubhouse banged open and I turned around-along with several of the other residents-expecting to see Zobelle or Weston or any of their crew. But it was just Tig, kicking the door open and the rest of the club following with him.

"I'll go tell them how the line works," Chuck said, practically bouncing off of his bar stool. "I'm sure that they're hungry." I watched him jog up to the club and waving his arms around, pointing to the line to explain how it works.

Juice left Chuck's speech early and walked straight over to me. He didn't sit down beside me, as I expected him to do. Instead he bent down his head to my ear and whispered, "My room?" I looked up at him as he pulled his head back up and judging by the look on his face, I could tell what it was he wanted to do in his bedroom.

I stood up and we walked side by side back to Juice's room.

* * *

Juice exited the bed, buck-naked, and began to put his clothes back on. I watched him from under my eyelids and smirked at him. Juice finished putting his pants back on and spotted me watching him. He laughed and shook his head. "I think you're more perverted than I am now."

I laughed. "Can you blame me?"

He flexed his arm muscle, looking down at it and then back at me. "No." He sat back down on the bed to put his shoes and socks back on. I crawled forward on the bed until I could rest my chin on his shoulder.

"What's the big club business that can't let you stay longer?" I asked, smiling a bit. Juice angled his head a little so that he could smirk at me.

"We've got a meeting with Weston tonight. Jax wants to talk to him about Gemma's attack."

"And by talk, you mean, beat the bastard to death?" I asked. Juice snorted at my bluntness.

"Exactly," He said, moving his whole body around so that we could face one another. "I'll be back right afterwards. And, if you're still in the mood, we can continue this." He began to twirl a lock of my hair between his fingers.

"I think I'll always be in the mood for this," I said, causing him to laugh again. I rested my hand on his cheek, rubbing my thumb against the coarseness of his unshaved face. "Try and be careful for me? Don't go taking any unnecessary risks tonight."

"When d'I ever take unnecessary risks?" Juice asked, sounding like he was trying to joke but it was sounding harder for him.

I shook my head slightly at him. "Just don't. Please." Juice's smile faded just a tad until none of his teeth showed.

"I promise, Moody," Juice said. He kissed my forehead and stood up to put his shirt and cut back on. I noticed immediately that he was wearing a purple shirt. Juice saw me looking and shrugged at me. "This color's grown on me." He reached out and cupped my face with his hand. "I'll be back later tonight, okay?" Before I could answer, he kissed me briefly and left the room.


	37. 37:Abducted

The next day the lockdown was still in effect. Juice and the rest of the club had come home a little after midnight, right at the moment when most of the residents had fallen asleep. I had been resting in Juice's bed. He had come home with a busted lip and a bruise underneath his eye, but other than that, he was fine.

But now the club was gone again, apparently parking their bikes right in front of Moody's to wait until Zobelle was unprotected. The Mayans were apparently across the street. The only reason I knew this was because Shelly had called me, freaking out about the two different biker gangs on either side of the street.

"Listen to me, Shelly," I said as calmly as I could. "Keep all the employees inside. Okay, no one leaves until they're all gone. Are there customers there?"

"There's one," Shelly said, crying slightly. She had gone back into my office to call me. "Mr. Mason says that he's come in here every morning for breakfast for the last seven years and he's not going to stop because of them."

"Make sure he's safe, alright." I ordered. Shelly told me that she understood and hung up. I shook my head and nearly jumped out of my skin when someone came up behind me and tapped my shoulder.

Lyla was there. She looked sort of awkward to be standing this close to me but she held my gaze. "Do you know where I can find a bottled water or something? Piper needs one to take his allergy pills." I glanced over her shoulder for the first time to see the little boy who looked so much like Lyla.

"Um, there're some in the fridge behind the bar." I said. "Just look in the back, behind all the beer." Lyla nodded curtly at me and left towards the bar, Piper following her closely. I sighed and was just about to sit down somewhere when my phone started ringing again. I groaned.

"The life as the head old lady never ends," Naomi said to me as she walked by with a tray of empty beer bottles.

"_Acting _head old lady," I corrected her. Gemma and Tara had left again this morning to go get groceries. Naomi shrugged and continued on her way as I answered my phone. "Hello?"

"It's Tara," Tara said from the other end. "I was wondering if you could come down to my house."

I straightened in my seat as a heavy-set crow-eater named Lizzy sat an un-asked for coffee in front of me. I looked up at her and she just smiled politely at me, showing me respect. I blinked as she walked away and began putting sugar and cream into the coffee. "Why do I need to go there?"

Tara didn't answer right away. "Gemma left me. We saw that Zobelle girl outside of the grocery store and Gemma followed her. We got to this house and Polly went inside and Gemma got out and told me to go home. Please, Suzanne, can you just some over and hang out here for a while before Gemma gets back?"

I took a drink from my coffee and stood up, heading back to Juice's room. "Let me get my purse and I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Suzanne," Tara said briefly before hanging up. After I got my purse I put my coffee down on the bar top by the sink and left the clubhouse, going outside for the first time since the lockdown started. Piney and Lowell were sitting together outside of the garage and called me over when they saw me outside.

Piney eyed me up and down in that grumpy way he had. "What're doing out here?"

"I've got to go to Jax's house," I said. Piney exchanged a glance with Lowell before nodding. Lowell practically jumped out of his seat and began to drag me to behind the garage. "What are you doing?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"So you can see it!" Lowell said, finally stopping and I was able to see the Buick put back together again for the first time.

I stared at it with my mouth open. The top of the car had scars in it, as if Lowell and the others had literally pounded them back into place. The hood was back in order, no longer crumbled and broken. And even the back of the car looked decent. You could still tell that the Buick had gone through hell, but it was new and perfect in my eyes.

"How? How did you...?" I asked, not even able to finish the sentence.

Lowell laughed. "Juice, Chibs, and I have been working on it since it got back here. We had to order another frame for the hood and Chibs had to use a hammer to get the dents on top back in place, but we got it done a few days ago. It won't win any beauty contests but I managed to get the engine into working again."

I cut him off from talking anymore by hugging him as tightly as I could. When I released him, Lowell reached into his pocket and handed me the keys. And with the happy reunion in my mind, I started my car and drove off the lot for what felt like the first time in forever.

Driving to Jax and Tara's house never felt so great.

I pulled into the driveway and knocked on the door to the house. Tara answered with Abel on her hip. Abel let out another happy baby noise when he saw me. Tara and I laughed before she handed him to me. Abel placed his little hand on my face.

"You're just a little sweetheart, aren't you?" I asked him as if he could answer back. Tara shut the door behind me and we walked into the kitchen. Tara looked at Abel and me for a while before smiling.

"You're a good mother, you know that?" She asked me. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Tara, in case you haven't noticed, I don't have a kid. I probably won't for a long time." I said.

Tara shrugged and sat down at the kitchen table while I leaned against the counter. "I know but the way you are with Abel, and the way you've been taking Ellie under your wing, I just think that whenever you do have a child, you're going to be a great mom."

I smiled at her, an unknown feeling spreading inside of me. "Thank you." Tara taught me how to feed Abel and he was beginning to get sleepy, so I set him down in his baby carrier that had been sitting on the counter. I suddenly remembered something that I had forgotten about a long time ago. "Hey Tara, the night of Abel's coming home party, I think I left my scarf here. I haven't seen it since that night. Do you have it here somewhere?"

Tara frowned, as if she was thinking about it. But then she shook her head. "No, I haven't seen any random scarves here. Maybe you just forgot where you put it at home."

"Maybe," I repeated under my breath. Someone began knocking at the door and Tara went to answer it. The sound of the door opening and closing came to my ears and Tara came back with Half-Sack.

"Where's Gemma?" Sack asked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"No 'hey, Moody, how's life'?" I asked, teasing him. Sack rolled his eyes right back at me.

"I would, but Juice talks about you like ninety percent of time, so I kinda already know what's happening in your life." Sack said with a shrug.

I stared at him. "Juice talks about me all the time?"

"Just some of the time, but you should've seen the look on your face!" Sack said with a laugh. I let out a sarcastic "ha ha" as Tara got out her phone.

"I'm gonna tell Jax about Gemma," Tara said. "He should know about her."

"Good idea," Sack said. Tara began pacing as she waited for Jax to answer the phone. Her face lit up when he did answer.

"Jax, Half-Sack just got to the house and Gemma's not with him." Tara said. There was a pause in which Sack and I exchanged a glance. "No, I'm here with him and Suzanne, but-oh my God!"

I hadn't even heard the door open. I turned to see a stranger standing at the doorway and pointing a gun at Tara. "Don' you go sayin' anythin' else, lass." He ordered in a quiet voice. He had an Irish accent and I automatically thought about what Chibs had told me about Fiona and Kerrianne being in danger from the leader of the I.R.A. Was this...?

The Irishman snatched the phone from Tara and hung up, keeping the gun pointed at Sack. "Sit down." He ordered. Tara did as he said. The Irishman looked on the verge of tears. "Gemma killed ma boy, ma Eddie. I think, the death of an old lady would match." He pointed the gun at Tara's head and Sack made a move to hurt him, but the Irishman turned the gun back to Sack. "Don' be a 'ero, boy. Now SIT!" He roared and forced both Sack and myself into seats at the table.

Abel started to cry and the Irishman turned towards him, a new light shining in his desperate face. "Or maybe, a son for a son." He said softly. He picked up a knife from the knife rack and brought it close to Abel.

"NO!" Sack howled as he launched himself out of his chair. The Irishman whipped the knife around and plunged it into Sack's stomach. Tara and I screamed. But as Sack fell to the floor and Tara stood by her chair, too shocked to move, I dashed forward towards the Irishman. I wanted to hurt him for hurting my childhood friend.

But the Irishman raised his gun over his head and brought it down hard on my temple, and everything turned black.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry. I could vaguely make out a face right in front of me. Someone was slapping my face as gently as possible and was saying my name in a way that a parent would trying to wake their kid up. I made out a halo of graying hair and dark eyes...

"Chibs?" I muttered.

"Oh thank God," Chibs muttered as he practically scooped me off the floor and towards his chest. I hugged him back when I realized that's what he was doing. "You've got to stop almost dyin' on me, Moody."

My senses came back some more as I got the sensation of Chibs's grown out hair tickled my face. "Where's Abel?"

Chibs helped me stand back up and he pretty much dragged me back into the baby's room, where Tara was sitting on the day bed, looking shell-shocked. He tossed me down next to her, making my head throb. "I'll be back, Moody." Chibs said briefly before kissing the spot between my eyes and rushing out of the room. I looked over to Tara slowly, afraid as to why Chibs had ignored my question.

"Tara, where did Abel go? Where's the Irishman?" I asked, tears already forming behind my eyes. Tara met my gaze and broke down into tears, answering my questions and leaving me feeling like someone had just punched a hole into my chest.


	38. 38: Comatose

Juice's bed reeked of him. That's the only thought that I could really process when he had taken me back to his house the night that Abel was kidnapped. The lockdown on the clubhouse was over, but I hadn't wanted to sleep alone. So Juice brought me to his home. I had ended up living here for about three days now.

He was in the shower now. It was late morning and he had already left to go check on Jax to make sure he was okay. Though I couldn't see how Jax would be okay: his son was just kidnapped.

I had to go to the police department today: Deputy Sheriff Hale had pushed back my meeting with the feds as far as he could, but today was my limit. Tara had already gone in this morning, an apparently Stahl had given her hell. After the police department, I wanted to go to the hospital to visit Half-Sack.

The boy next door who had played with me when there was nobody for me was in a deep coma. Even though I had seen Half-Sack fully alive just a few days ago, every time I tried to remember him, I thought about back when I was five and he was eight, and how we had played tag and war in the woods behind our neighborhood. Or whenever we went over to his house because his parents were friendlier than mine, they'd make us milkshakes and we'd have a competition as to who could laugh without it coming out of their nose. Usually I would win: Sack would laugh at just about anything.

And now he wasn't able to wake himself up.

The knife that Cameron Hayes had plunged into Sack went it too shallow to cause death, but it went in deep enough to cause bad internal bleeding that had taken several hours of surgery to stop. He had fallen into unconsciousness right after he hit the floor in Tara's kitchen and hadn't woken up yet. I had seen him two days ago, and the doctors had put a tube down Sack's throat so that he could still get food and nutrients. He was breathing on his own, which I was told was a good sign.

Juice got out of the bathroom wearing his clothes for the day. He looked just as worn as I felt. Juice's dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully at me and he sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing onto the bump under the covers that was my foot. I moved my foot around but he held on to it. He let out a strong sigh and slumped down onto the bed with me, moving up so that his face was right next to mine.

"D'you want a ride to the police station?" Juice asked me softly.

"Don't you have church?" I asked him right back. Juice turned his head to look at me.

"I don't mind skipping for the first few minutes." He said seriously. "Clay will understand if you didn't want to go down there alone. And after all the shit that happened, I'd be surprised if you did want to go alone."

I reached down and found his hand. I held onto it. "Thank you," I said quietly. Juice smiled, nodded, and brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. He stood up and pulled me out of bed with him.

"C'mon, sweetheart," He muttered. "Get dressed and then we can go talk to the feds about Cameron and Abel."

"What all am I supposed to tell them?" I asked. "Do I tell them everything, or just about the actual kidnapping?"

"Clay told me to tell you to just tell them about how Cameron came in with a gun and didn't say anything." Juice told me as he moved around the room, picking up a pair of my jeans and a shirt before tossing it onto the bed right where I was sitting. "Tara should've already given her statement and that's what she told them, so make sure that those stories match."

"Thanks, coach." I said, looking at him as he searched for my socks. He found a pair and sat them on top of the pile of clothes he had made for me. I got up and began to get dressed, Juice still in the room as he tried looking for my shoes.

"Where are your shoes at?" He asked, eyeing me down. I looked at him and raised my eyebrow.

"You were checking me out weren't you?" I asked. Juice looked me up and down again.

"Can you blame me?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "My shoes are in the living room." He snickered to himself and left the room, leaving me to get dressed in privacy. Once I was finished getting ready, I put my shoes on and met Juice outside, where he was waiting by his bike. I got on and he wasted no time whipping out of the driveway where the Buick was parked and down the road towards town.

Juice had to get back to the clubhouse so he walked me inside the police station and waited until they said that they were ready for my statement. Before I went in, Juice kissed my face and left me to face the federal agents.

I groaned when I saw that it was Stahl and her agent friend who were interrogating me. She stared at me with that look on her face that made me think that she had something horrible-smelling underneath her nose. I sat down in the only empty chair at the table, facing both Stahl and the other agent.

I repeated the story I'd been going over in my head, and they read it back to me. "And you were knocked out by Cameron Hayes right after he stabbed Mr. Epps?"

"Yes," I said. "I wasn't able to see what happened after that. But Tara told me everything that happened after I was knocked out."

"I see the bump on your head has gone down." Stahl stated, nodding to the slight bump on my head from Cameron's gun. "Who took care of that for you?"

I tilted my head at her. "I was in a house with a doctor and Chi-I mean, Fillip Telford, was a medic. I think my medical needs were pretty taken care of." Stahl narrowed her eyes at me and nodded along with my story. Stahl's agent friend sighed.

"That will do, Miss Moody." He said in a tired voice. "We'll let you know if we need you to come in for more questioning." I shook his hand briefly before leaving the room, completely ignoring Stahl's outstretched hand. I made my way back outside into the sunlight to find Chibs practically laying down on his bike. He sat and stood up when he saw me approaching him.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"Juicy boy is doin' some work for the club so he sent me to bring ya to the hospital," Chibs explained. He glanced over the top of my head and stiffened. I followed his gaze and saw that Stahl had stepped outside and was now watching me and Chibs with untrusting eyes. Chibs spat in her direction and began to get back on his bike. "C'mon, lass. Let's go see Sack."

I got onto the back of his bike right as he launched it into motion. The ride to the hospital went by in a multi-colored blur and soon we were at the hospital. I sighed when we entered into the lobby, with its blank white walls and stone-faced nurses and doctors, I felt less and less welcome with every visit I had.

As we walked to the elevators, Chibs glanced down at me. "How many times 'ave you come 'ere in the last few months?"

I shrugged and entered the elevator. "Too many times to even start counting." Chibs practically punched the correct button and the doors began to slide close. "You guys have got to stop getting hurt."

Chibs snorted. "That's probably not gonna happen." He muttered. After the elevator, we walked down the hall to the end and went into the room on the right. Half-Sack was stuck in here with a few other coma patients. In the far corner there was a mother sitting with her twenty-something year old son who had gotten into a car crash. I sat down beside Sack's bed, where a few of his Army buddies had already left him some flowers and cards.

Sack's blond hair was wild, showing me that someone had ruffled his hair a bit. Without thinking, I reached out a patted his hair down. I sat back in my seat and looked over to the mother, who had let out a loud cry by her son's bedside. She had bent her head down and was resting it on her son's bedside. I exchanged a glance with Chibs, who was standing at my shoulder and was watching her too. I grabbed onto Chibs's sleeve and pulled on it gently. Chibs squatted and held his head by mine.

"Were they here before us?" I asked him quietly, so that the woman couldn't hear me.

Chibs didn't answer right away. "I 'eard the nurse say that they've been 'ere since June."

It was October. Five months.

I glanced back at Sack. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

"I dunno, Miss Moody," Chibs said, grabbing my shoulder and squeezing it gently. "But when he does wake up, he'll be a full patched-in member of Sons of Anarchy." I looked up at Chibs. He nodded and looked down at Sack's comatose form. He let go of my shoulder and patted Sack's head, sort of roughly. "Hurry it up and wake up, brother."


	39. 39: Drive-By

Later that night, I was at the clubhouse with the rest of the club. Chuck and I were in the kitchen and I was working on showing him how to cook again. It was a challenge, I had attempted to cook with only two fingers and I had ended up spilling a lot of stuff. Chuck was having the same luck as me, but he was slowly getting better.

"This is still fun!" Chuck said enthusiastically. He was trying to hold a mixing spoon with one finger. Bobby was observing from a little ways away, he had a blank look on his face. Tara was stirring her straw around in her drink at the bar, waiting for Jax to come over. She had confided to me that Jax has barely looked at her since Abel was taken. Juice was on one of the couches, typing something into his laptop with that extremely focused look on his face.

"Want a beer, Moody?" Chibs asked me from the kitchen door. I nodded and excused myself from Chuck's perkiness. I followed Chibs to the bar and he handed me a Bud Lite. "How's the cookin' lessons goin'?" He asked me before taking his own swig from his beer.

"They're going," I said, shrugging. Chibs snorted and clinked his beer bottle against mine. I glanced over to where Juice was staring intently at the computer screen and downing his own beer. "What's Juice up to?"

Chibs glanced over at Juice and then back to me. "We got ourselves some pen pals: a bounty hunter who might know how to start lookin' for Cameron and Abel, and some contacts with the I.R.A. Any of them could know where Abel is."

"That's a good idea," I said, watching Juice. He finally closed the laptop and picked up his beer before walking towards the bar. He took the spot next to me and exhaled. I looked at him and Chibs raised his eyebrow.

Juice looked between us, tiredness and frustration rolling off of him waves. "Have you ever tried to talk with angry Irishmen?" He asked with a slight snap in his voice. "I explained about the whole Cameron thing with them and they got pissed, thinking that I was accusing them." He groaned and pressed his hands into his face. I put my hand on his back and rubbed it.

"And the bounty hunter?" Clay asked from his spot at the bar. I raised my eyebrows at him as Juice reappeared from behind his hands.

"He said that his fee is high but he's willing to meet up with us later this week." Juice replied. Clay nodded and made a noise back in his throat. We all heard the sound of motorcycles pulling into the lot and everyone left the clubhouse to see Jax as he pulled in, led by Tara.

Jax parked his bike in its rightful place. Tara began to head towards him, but she hesitated. I leaned against a pole outside by the picnic table and a few of the other club members either sat down at the picnic table or went over to Jax to fill in about the bounty hunter and the angry Irishmen. Juice leaned against the same pole as me, brushing his arm against mine.

"How was Sack today?" Juice asked. He still sounded slightly frustrated with how his emailing with the I.R.A had gone.

I sighed and shrugged. "The same. I'm worried though; there's this one guy there who's been there for five months." Juice glanced at me and nudged my arm gently. I nudged his right back as a black van pulled into the lot. Everyone looked up at it.

"Lot's closed," Happy muttered from where he had been sitting at the picnic table with Bobby and Chibs. Clay, Tara, and Jax stood at the bikes and stared at the van with a guarded expression. The van pulled into a parking space and pulled back out, starting to turn around. Bobby, Chibs, and Happy were standing beside me and Juice. They all looked at it with very guarded expressions. I noticed that Happy had put his hand on his gun holsters.

The van began to drive out of the lot more slowly than when it had entered. I peered at the driver's side through the van, but I couldn't see the driver's face. When the van door slid open and revealed two men wearing masks, I muttered, "Shit!"

The two masked men opened fire on us and I was tackled to the ground by Juice, who was covering my body with his. I couldn't tell what was really happening, for my face was being pressed into the ground. I heard the sound of returning gunfire and the sound of screeching tires. There was a moment of silence that was broken by the sound of someone groaning in pain. Juice's weight was lifted from me.

"Holy shit," Juice said. I looked up at him, adrenaline blocking out all other feelings. But Juice looked scared, and that caused me to begin to wake up my senses. I heard someone screaming in pain and another primal scream of fury. Happy ran off towards where Clay, Jax, and Tara had been standing. Chibs didn't say anything for a moment before running after him, screaming for someone to stop.

I looked up and saw Jax on top of an unknown man, pounding his head into the pavement. The screams of pain were coming from the stranger and Happy pretty much tackled Jax off of him. Clay and Chibs were on top of the man now, moving his shirt sleeves and collar around, searching for gang ink. From what I could tell from where I was standing, the man was Hispanic.

Juice and Bobby left me standing there and Tara hurried over to me. We stood side by side and the men finally found something-a tattoo on the inside of his bottom lip. Clay spat on the man and Bobby ran inside and back out with zip ties. They wasted no time, binding the man into helplessness and dragging him towards the garage. Jax had him by the shirt collar as he dragged the unconscious man away from us. Happy, Bobby, and Juice followed him. Clay said something to Chibs and Chibs nodded before pelting towards the clubhouse, not even acknowledging Tara and me standing there. Clay's eyes found us and he joined us by the picnic table.

"Who was he?" I asked.

Clay looked down at me, his eyes looking like he was thinking at a mile a minute. "Someone from the Calaveras, a joke of a club that do dirty work for the Mayans."

"Does that mean that the Mayans ordered this?" I asked sharply. Clay didn't answer, looking off at the garage where the Calaveras man was being held. He looked back at me with a sort of guilty expression on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him "What?"

"I hate to ask this of you, Suzanne," Clay started. "But I don't have a choice right now. We need that basement of yours for him."


	40. 40: Lace and Leather

I stood in Moody's kitchen, glaring furiously at Clay as he walked from the back door to the secret door in my office. He avoided my gaze completely. He came back out after a few minutes to give the signal to Happy and Jax.

Happy and Jax stood on either side of the Calaveras man, half dragging-half leading him to my basement. He was awake now, but they had put a sack over his face so that he didn't know where he was. His brown hands were slightly purple as they passed me and I was able to see his hands bound behind his back. As the three men disappeared downstairs, Clay came up and gave me an apologetic look. I shook my head at him, never breaking my angry gaze from him.

When Clay had told me that they needed my basement to hold the Calaveras man for answers, I had been understandably pissed off. I had reminded Clay of our deal we had made four months ago. But he had countered that I was always willing to help the club, and that this would be helping. It hadn't been a long fight, but it was long enough to make the rest of the club uncomfortable as Clay and I went back and forth. There had even been sides taken: Happy and Bobby had been on Clay's side, and Jax and Juice had been on mine. Jax had tried to call Opie and Piney so that their opinions could be heard, but neither of them would answer their phones.

"I'm sorry, kid," Clay said softly as he left my kitchen. "I'll leave Happy here with him, see if he can get some answers." I knew exactly what that meant and the idea of my basement becoming a torture chamber made me sick to my stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I snapped. "How long will he be in there?"

Clay blinked at my bluntness and shrugged. "I'm not sure, Suzanne. But we appreciate the help."

I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't say anything. Clay walked into the office, looking slightly ashamed of himself. I exhaled through my nose and shook my head. Jax emerged from the basement, looking pissed off. Clay followed him, looking equally pissed off and they both left without so much as a glance in my direction. I walked over to the office and into the basement.

There was a sort of hollow area underneath the stairs where a grown man could stand if he ducked his head. This was where Happy had put the Calaveras man. Apparently Happy had found an empty bucket and had set it upside down so that the Calaveras man could sit on it. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and they had even found use for the heavy chain I had found when I first walked down here. They had somehow attached one end to the handcuffs and the other end was wrapped around and padlocked to a support beam. He still had the sack over his head, blinding him.

Happy turned when I approached cautiously. He took a step away from the Calaveras man and grasped my elbow before taking me to the far corner of the basement. "I'll stay here the night, see if he'll talk. If he doesn't tonight, then someone will be here every day until he does."

I opened my mouth to answer him but Happy quickly shook his head at me and jerked his head over to the prisoner. I understood immediately. The man didn't know where he was, and to let him know that he was in a woman's home could end up disastrous. So I began to leave the basement so that Happy could get on with his interrogating skills.

* * *

The only thing of importance that Happy found out in the first night was the man's name, and even then he only got a last name: Pozo.

None of my employees knew about Pozo living in the basement. I made sure that whoever was supposed to be "taking care" of Pozo that day came in before the morning shift started and left after the last employee went home. I would bring down meals for whoever was down there, along with some scraps for Pozo, but I would never actually talk to them until they were upstairs.

The constant presence of the club was sort of a relief. If anything bad happened I had a member right downstairs. I also met a member from the nomad charter of the Sons of Anarchy, a blond, buff guy named Kozik. He didn't talk to me much, he basically said hello to me when he came for his shift, went downstairs, and said goodbye when another member came to take his place.

Kozik was finishing his shift when someone knocked on the back door. Russ answered it and stepped back to let Opie in. I began to greet Opie but stopped short when I saw that Lyla was behind him. "What're you doing here?" I asked.

Lyla straightened. "Ellie wanted to come see you. So I'm here with her." Ellie came out from behind Lyla and rushed forward to hug me.

"You said that you'd teach me how to cook stuff!" Ellie said. "Can I learn now?" I looked up from Ellie to Lyla, who was watching me carefully. Opie was in the background with Kozik, waiting to see how I'd react to the porn star hanging out in my kitchen. I looked back down to Ellie.

"Sure," I said with a smile. "There should be an extra apron in the bottom cabinet right there." I pointed to where we kept the extra black aprons that the kitchen staff were required to wear. Ellie hopped a little and grabbed one before throwing it on herself.

"Lyla, can you tie up the back, please?" Ellie asked her father's new girlfriend. Lyla obliged, having to bend over to do so. I caught a few of the male dishwashers staring and gave them a look that sent them back to work. Kozik left with his usual goodbye and Opie went downstairs.

I showed Ellie what I had been working-seasoning the beef for the roast beef sandwiches. "Now that you've washed your hands, just grab at it and rub that seasoning into it." I did so to show her. Ellie made a face when she touched the raw meat.

"It's slimy!" She exclaimed. As she massaged the seasonings into it, I added more pepper and began pouring in some barbeque sauce. Ellie leapt back and looked at me. "I thought you put that on _after_."

"I make it with the sauce cooked into the meat and then some more on top of it." I explained. Lyla raised her eyebrows from where she was standing. I narrowed my eyes at her but didn't say anything. We finished and I pulled out a long carving knife and cut up the beef into long slices. Ellie stood back and watched, holding her hands away from her body. With the roast all sliced up and slapped the slices onto a greased baking sheet and put the meat in the oven. "And now we cook it for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half."

"It's messy," Ellie stated, looking down at her hands.

I shrugged. "Yeah, but that's what makes it fun." Good God, I was starting to sound like Chuck. I spent the next hour and a half showing Ellie around the kitchen, along with teaching her some of the rules that came with it.

"Can I work here when I get older?" Ellie asked.

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, as if thinking about it. "Come over when you're sixteen and you've got yourself a job." I looked up and saw Lyla smiling slightly to herself as she listened to every word I said to Ellie. This time when I looked at her, she didn't give me that guarded expression of hers. I set Ellie on Valerie as the little girl began to ask Valerie a whole bunch of questions.

Lyla remained where she was standing as I stood beside her. "I think we should bury the hatchet, do you?" I asked her, low enough so that Ellie couldn't hear. Lyla nodded.

"If I'm honest," She said. "I thought what you did to Bianca was hilarious." Lyla let out a short laugh and I stared at her. Lyla met my gaze and began to explain. "Bianca thinks she can get whatever and whoever she wants just because she's one of our biggest stars at Cara Cara. When she saw that you and Juice were a thing, she thought she could chase you away just like all the other girlfriends she had chased away. You were the first girl to stand up to her."

I felt pride surge through me. "I thought it was hilarious too. Seriously, her way of flirting was more like a cat in heat." Lyla laughed and soon we were laughing. I stuck my hand out towards her. "Truce?" Lyla shook my hand without hesitating.


	41. 41: In Your Corner

Cameron and Abel had been spotted. Juice had gotten an email from the club's new bounty hunter friend that showed Cameron holding Abel and buying a ticket for Vancouver. I had frowned when Juice told me the news: just a few days before getting the email, Jimmy-the bastard who wronged Chibs and who was giving the club I.R.A information-had said that Cameron was in Belfast, Ireland. Where the hell was Abel?

Juice had quickly climbed on top of me in bed soon after I formed this thought so it was pushed from my mind until we were finished.

The club members weren't getting anywhere with Pozo, so they weren't around twenty-four-seven anymore. It was just before the lunch shift, when we were usually busiest, and I made a small plate for Pozo and headed down to the basement, feeling nervous as to what I had to do. Clay had suggested it when he dropped by, and at first I was just as pissed off about it as I had been when he said that Pozo would be staying here. But I didn't really have a choice.

"Just let him see you and maybe you can persuade him to talk," Clay had said. The way he said persuade told me that Clay didn't want me to just talk to the guy.

"I am not putting my mouth on any part of that man's anatomy!" I had snapped back. Clay had snickered.

"If you want to you can go ahead and do that, if you think he'll talk afterwards."

I got to the bottom of the stairs and approached Pozo's covered face. He was still chained up and he was now sitting on the floor, the bucket sitting upright in the corner of the dark corner. Judging by the smell, Pozo had been going to the bathroom in there. I held my breath as I got closer and removed Pozo's head covering. His face was twisted with hatred when I removed the sack but it dissolved away as he saw that I wasn't a member of the club.

He opened his mouth in surprise but I cut off whatever he was going to say. "Save the shock and eat your food." I put the plate on the ground and Pozo immediately leaned forward to scoop up the food with his mouth, for his hands were still chained behind his back. He came back up to chew and swallow his food, and he chewed with his mouth open, causing me to see that he was missing some teeth in the back of his mouth. I could tell from my vantage point that the teeth had gone missing very recently.

Pozo looked like hell. I could clearly see that now. His face, which would've been brown, was swollen and sort-of black and yellow from the bruising. His nose looked like it had been broken and dried blood and snot crusted down from his nose to underneath his mouth. Pozo came back up from the food a third time and stopped to stare at me.

"You make this?" He asked roughly, his voice cracking so that I knew that he hadn't spoken in days. I nodded. "It's really good." He admitted in a quiet voice. He ducked down to get another mouthful. I squatted down so that we could be at eye level. Pozo met my eyes without blinking.

"Why did you and your crew attack the Sons?" I asked him in the most gentlest voice I could muster.

Pozo stared at me and laughed. "They're so desperate that they're sending old ladies after me? I'm shaking in my piss-stained pants." He spat in my face.

I recoiled, disgusted and furious. I wiped the saliva off my face and punched Pozo as hard as I could across his laughing face. That wiped the amusement from him. I quickly grabbed him by the short collar and sat him back up. He looked angry and a little bit surprised now.

"You know why they haven't been coming down as often?" I asked him, using the lie I had thought of before I came downstairs. "Because I convinced them not to. I'm the one making sure that you're fed and that you don't die down here. But now I think I'll go ahead and let them come down here and never leave. Better enjoy that food while you can: you won't be getting anymore from now on." I stood up abruptly and began to head back towards the stairs.

"Wait!" Pozo screamed at me. He was standing up and leaning away from the support beam he was chained to. "Don't let them kill me! The crazy one threatened to cut off my balls next time he came in here!"

"Then start talking!" I screamed back at him, appearing more confident than I actually felt.

"I can't!" Pozo said, beginning to cry. He looked like a desperate and chained animal. "My club will kill if I talk!"

"And my club will kill you if you don't." I reasoned with him. I took a step forward. "I'm the one standing between you and death. If you don't tell me now, then that crazy one is going to gut you. I hope not; I don't want your guts to stain the floor."

Pozo stared at me, looking wildly frightened. Then he let out a sob. "Hector Salazar...He's in charge of the Calaveras. H-He said that if we killed as many SAMCRO members as possible, then Alvarez would let us merge with the Mayans." I stared at him for a long moment before starting to climb up the stairs. Pozo watched me leave with frantic eyes. "They didn't hear it from me! Don't let them kill me, PLEASE!"

I shut the bookshelf door as quickly as I could to keep Pozo's screams from leaving the sound-proofed basement. I faced the entire Sons of Anarchy club, for they had been cramped inside of my office waiting for me to come back upstairs. Clay stood up from my desk chair and asked what he said.

"Does the name Hector Salazar mean anything to you guys?" I asked. I repeated everything that had happened downstairs, and Chibs handed me a napkin from his pocket when I said that Pozo had spat in my face. I was proud of myself when I told them of how I punched Pozo, and they all looked proud as well.

"We'll take it from here, Suzanne," Clay said with a smug grin on his face. "You did good." With that, he and Jax and Happy went downstairs where we could still hear Pozo crying loudly to himself. The rest of the club exited my office and Bobby led Kozik, Opie, and Chibs into the alley where they got ready to leave. Juice stayed behind for a minute to say bye to me.

"You did really good down there," He said.

"I thought I was going to have a panic attack," I told him honestly. Juice smiled a bit and kissed my forehead.

"But you didn't," Juice said softly, and as Clay, Jax, and Happy left my office, he left with them, giving me one last kiss before driving away with them. I made sure the bookshelf door was nice and shut tightly before going out to the main dining area. I frowned when I got out there though.

I checked the time. "Is it really twelve-thirty?" I asked Shelly. The restaurant was only half-filled, as opposed to how it was usually completely packed during lunch.

She nodded. "No offense to those SAMCRO boys, but they scare everyone in town now, thanks to that charge about the church."

"I told you that that was a set up!" I said, staring at her.

Valerie appeared in the kitchen window. "Yes dear, but you can't explain that to every person in town. And it's not exactly a secret now that you're dating one of them as well as practically adopted by another member. People don't know when those men will show up in here; they're right to be nervous when it comes to Moody's now."

"That is stupid," I said. "And it's not like I could make my affiliation with them stop."

Shelly stared at me with very wide eyes. "Suzy, honey, are you pregnant?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "And that's the first thought that comes to your mind when I say that I stop being involved with SAMCRO?" Shelly shrugged, looking embarrassed. I shook my head and began to wash off some of the glasses behind the counter.

* * *

I was making dinner in my apartment with Juice watching carefully over my shoulder. I was frying some peppers for the fajitas that I was making when Juice came up behind me and nipped me on my neck. I flinched but giggled slightly. "That's gonna be a bruise by tomorrow." I said. Juice rested his chin on my shoulder and let out a short laugh.

"Good," He said curtly. I took the peppers off the heat and turned to look at him, getting the sense that he wanted to talk. Juice sighed and leaned against the island. "You remember how I went to jail last month?"

"How could I forget?" I asked, watching him carefully. Juice rubbed his face in that way that told me that he was stalling.

"Our trail is coming up in two weeks," Juice said. "We go to trial, and they're gonna give us the sentence. Apparently it's not a matter of whether or not we'll be going to prison, it's a matter of how long we're gonna be away for."

I took a step forward and hugged him, catching him off guard. He hugged me back and sighed. I took a step back from him to look up at his face. "Whatever happens to you, I'm going to be in your corner."

Juice stared at me. "You're too good for me, you know that, right?"

"I think we bring that better side out of each other," I said with a shrug. Juice reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

Juice was looking at me with that expression that I couldn't place. He kept his hands on either side of my face, rubbing his thumbs gently on my cheeks. I met his eyes, some instinct inside of me telling me not to break eye contact.

"I'm in love with you, Suzanne Moody," Juice said so quietly I almost missed it. Instead of answering him, I got onto my tiptoes and pressed my mouth against his. When I finished, I reached my hand up and ran my fingertips over the skin where his tribal tattoo was.

"I'm in love with you, too, Juan Carlos Ortiz," I said, knowing that it was true the second he said it. Juice's face seemed to break open because of how big he was smiling right before he kissed me. He pulled away again after a few seconds.

"Say it again?"

* * *

Our dinner ended up getting cold.


	42. 42: Prison Break

The next morning, Juice had an email from the I.R.A waiting for him. He read it and his face morphed to immediate understanding. When I questioned him about his face, getting up and wrapping my blanket around myself, he looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Abel's in Belfast," He said shortly. He began to hurry around my room, searching for his clothes. "I gotta get to the club and tell them! Sorry, Moody, I gotta go."

"That's okay, just hurry and tell Jax!" I helped him find his stuff. While he was fighting to get his pants on in a hurry, I glanced at his email and saw the picture of Cameron Hayes, dead. I didn't feel anything for him, because of him Abel was thousands of miles away from his home and Sack was still in a coma. Juice left in a hurry, giving me one last kiss and another "I love you," before disappearing.

Ellie and Lyla came by again today after the restaurant closed for the night, for it was the only time I could really teach Ellie. I told Ellie that she'd be learning how to make lemon poppy seed muffins. When she first heard the name, she had wrinkled her nose and looked at me like I was crazy. But Lyla pretty much lit up like a Christmas tree.

"My grandma used to make the best lemon poppy seed muffins!" Lyla said, and she helped us out as we baked the muffins. After we put the muffin batter into the oven, Ellie watched them through the oven window. Lyla nudged her shoulder a bit. "You don't have any drug tests after this, do you?"

"Why do you ask that?" Ellie asked, looking up at Lyla confused.

"Poppy seeds have a sort of opium in them that will make you test positive for drugs," Lyla explained. Ellie looked at me for conformation. I nodded, letting her know that it was true. I turned away from the oven to see that my usually closed office door was wide open.

Lyla shrieked and I turned towards her to see Pozo standing behind her, holding her in place with a bit of broken glass. I recognized the coloring of the glass and with the several cuts on top of Pozo's head, it told me that someone had broken a plate over Pozo's head and hadn't bothered to clean the shards up. Pozo held the shard against Lyla's throat.

Ellie screamed and I grabbed her arm before shoving her behind me and holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Calm down, Pozo," I ordered. "How did you get out?"

"I've been rubbing the cuffs against the floor ever since I got down there." Pozo said, sounding just as desperate as he looked. Silent tears of fright were going down Lyla's face. I took a step back, holding onto Ellie so that she moved with me. I moved as if I was trying to get away from him, but I was moving closer to where my trusty baseball bat was sitting.

"You don't have to do this," Lyla said softly. Pozo pressed the shard against her neck and a thing stream of blood fell down Lyla's white neck. Ellie let out a dry sob from behind me.

"Listen to me, Pozo," I said in the calmest voice I could muster. "She's right. You don't have to hurt any of us, if you just put the shard down we'll let you walk out of here."

Pozo laughed cruelly. "Yeah right! You and I both know that if I do that, then you'll call your crow-whichever one he is, and the entire club will be hunting me down like a dog." He took a few steps towards me and Ellie. "That can't happen, chica."

I backed up a lot more, now within grabbing distance of the bat. Ellie's back was pressed up against the wall. I attempted to show Lyla what I was planning with my eyes. But I wasn't sure if she saw me.

Then, suddenly, Lyla sprang into action. She ducked down, accidentally causing the shard to cut her neck, and elbowed Pozo as hard as she could in the groin. Pozo bent over in pain and Lyla got away from him. I snatched the bat from its resting place and rushed past Lyla, who was making a bee-line for Ellie to make sure she was okay. Pozo was just trying to stand up straight again when I hit him on the back of the head as hard as I could with my bat.

Pozo fell to the ground, unconscious. I stood over him, gasping for air and looked back at Lyla and Ellie. Lyla was wiping away Ellie's tears, who looked scared but otherwise okay. I lowered my bat a bit and Lyla looked up to me, the wound on her neck bleeding slightly.

"Call Opie, anyone from the club," I said. "I'm gonna put this asshole back where he belongs." Lyla nodded and got out her phone. I dragged Pozo back downstairs and saw where he had scratched the metal of the hand cuffs down to almost nothing. Then it looked like he had snapped them when the cuffs were weak enough. I leaned Pozo against the support beam, panting out of exhaustion by this point. I wrapped the chain around him several times before padlocking it all shut.

"Get yourself out of this one, you dick," I said, finishing it by bringing as much saliva into my mouth as I could. I spat at him square in the face and left his unconscious body down there.

The muffins were out of the oven when I got back up there, and Ellie were nibbling on one. Lyla told me that Opie hadn't answered his phone. I looked at the fresh batch of muffins and thought about how secure Pozo was now. "In that case, let's head down to the clubhouse and see if they're there. Pozo is secure now."

Lyla and Ellie were more than happy to leave Moody's. I drove the Buick to the clubhouse, and along the way Lyla suggested that we have Ellie's lessons up in my apartment from that moment on. Ellie agreed from the back seat, the plastic container of muffins sitting on her lap. The Teller-Morrow lot was deserted when we pulled into the place. A couple of crow-eaters were hanging out with Piney by the picnic table when we approached.

"Hi, grandpa!" Ellie greeted Piney, offering him some of the muffins. Piney and the crow-eaters took some happily and Piney said that Kenny and Piper were inside. Ellie hurried inside to show her brother and friend what she had made.

Piney saw the cut on Lyla's throat and stood up. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Pozo got out of his cell," I said gruffly. I explained the whole story as one of the crow-eater named Lizzy cleaned up Lyla's neck. "Pozo's secure now, but I can't keep him in the basement anymore." I finished as another car pulled into the lot. Remembering the attack from the Calaveras, I tensed up but relaxed when I saw Gemma exit the car.

"Isn't she on the run?" Lizzy asked. I stared at Gemma as she began to head towards us but stopped to answer her phone.

"Gemma!" I called out. Gemma didn't respond, but listened to whoever was on the other end intently. I slowly began to make my way out to her as a blinding crowd of motorcycles entered the lot. I looked from the bikes to Gemma right before she collapsed to the ground.


	43. 43: Back Where We Belong

I sat beside Sack's bed again. Gemma was to have immediate family only as her visitors. I was only able to see Gemma be handcuffed to her bed by Agent Stahl. So I came to Half-Sack's room. The twenty-something year old boy was still in his bed, but this time none of his visitors were present.

"There's so much shit going on right now, Sack," I told him quietly. "Abel's been kidnapped and he's in Ireland, some crazy Hispanics tried to kill all of us and one of those crazy Hispanics nearly killed Lyla and me just last night." I paused to sigh. "If you were awake you'd probably be the middle of all of this, you'd want to find Abel and beat up those crazy Calaveras."

I looked back over to where the unknown boy was hooked up to his machines. He wasn't able to breathe on his own, unlike Sack. I looked at Sack and saw that his facial hair was still growing out. "You need to shave," I muttered, trying to think of something to say.

I was reminded of back when Sack had come home from school, he was in the third grade and I had been in kindergarten. He said he had to tell me something very important and that I had to pinkie promise that I would never tell another living soul. I had pinkie promised, being five and expecting the biggest and coolest secret in the world.

Instead what I got was a burp in the face that could only come from an immature eight year old boy.

That's how it had been back then. Sack would always have me make a pinkie promise before any kind of agreement and I'd make that promise, following him wherever he went. That was back when my parents attempted to hide their fights from me and Half-Sack had loved strawberry milkshakes more than life itself.

My eyes had gotten teary-eyed without meaning to. I wiped my eyes until they were dry and I flinched when someone nudged my shoulder. I looked at the hand there and saw that they were holding a tissue. I took the tissue when I saw that Deputy Sheriff Hale was the one holding it.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"From what I hear, you and Kip here were childhood friends before your parents moved away from this place." Hale said, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to me.

"Yeah," I said absentmindedly. "The people in our neighborhood hated us though. Kip talked me into playing ding-dong-ditch too many times for me to count."

Hale snorted with amusement. "That sounds like what a future member of the Sons of Anarchy would do. Is there any way of knowing when Kip will be on his feet again?" I shook my head and Hale nodded silently to himself. "How do the prospects of SAMCRO become full members?"

I thought about it for a second. "I think they're just a prospect for a year and then they're patched in. I'm not entirely sure."

"Than if I'm correct, Kip's year is up." Hale said. I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.

"What are you asking me, Deputy Sheriff?"

"I'm only going to be Deputy Sheriff for another week." Hale said. "Next Thursday, Unser will be stepping down and I'll be stepping up. I'm planning on bringing some men from Stockton down here to Charming, and I thought that I should warn those who will be left behind by SAMCRO when they go behind bars. Because they _will _be going behind bars."

I met Hale's eyes. "I appreciate the heads up, Hale. Now if you'll excuse yourself from my grieving over my comatose friend, _I'd _be grateful." Hale got the hint and left me alone in the coma ward. I sighed and turned back to Sack. "Do you see the type of shit that's been happening?"

* * *

The club took Pozo somewhere else, where I honestly didn't a shit. I was giving Ellie another cooking lesson in my apartment when the door opened. Lyla was in the living room with Kenny and Piper watching T.V, so they saw the visitor before I did. I heard Lyla gasp loudly and that was enough to send me and my bat running into the living room.

Juice held up his hands when he saw me and he yelled at me to calm down. I stared at his face, at his black eye and his busted up face. Kenny commented on how cool Juice looked while Piper agreed. I lowered my bat and asked, "What happened?"

Instead of answering, Juice walked to me, grabbing my belt loop and taking me into the bedroom to speak to me privately. I threw the bat on the bed and looked back up at him, reaching out to gently touch his banged up face.

"It was an ambush," Juice said. I reached up farther and pushed the hood of his hoodie down. "I was supposed to meet the Chicken Man-the one I told you about-but he sold me out to Salazar and some of the Calaveras." He stopped and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, avoiding my gaze. "They told me to tell the club that what happened was now personal and then they-they stole my cut."

I hissed softly and glared at a spot beyond Juice. To steal a club member's cut was shame-pure shame. Juice looked embarrassed and pissed off, and I couldn't blame him.

"I haven't met this Salazar yet and I really want to bash his face in." I muttered. That got Juice to snort with amusement. "Seriously, if I ever get the opportunity to do that, I'm taking that opportunity."

"You and me both," Juice said, beginning to leave the room. I followed him and brought him into the kitchen where Lyla and Ellie were keeping an eye on the food cooking. Juice sniffed the air and smiled at Ellie. "Something smells great." Ellie blushed and I got Juice an ice pack for his face.

"Did club business do that to you, Juice?" Lyla asked him.

Juice shrugged. "More like personal business." I began to shift through some of my mail from this morning. My eyes quickly found the one without a return address and I glanced up at Juice and the others before putting the envelope under my shirt and excusing myself to the bathroom.

I tore open the envelope in front of the mirror. The letter wasn't long and it had been printed out of a sheet of computer paper. I read it, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.

_Do you know who killed your uncle? Meet me at the Denny's in Stockton Friday the thirty-first of October. Come alone._

There wasn't a name on the letter anywhere. I flipped it over and over again, checked the envelope for something else, but that was it. I stared at the message, not knowing who it was from, or even if this stranger knew anything about Vince's death. I thought about what day it was and looked back down to the letter.

I had a week to decide if I would meet this stranger or not.


	44. 44: Too Late

Juice knocked on my door a few days later in the early morning. It was about seven in the morning and I was barely awake when I answered the door. But Juice swept in like a hurricane and slammed the door shut and pulled me into his arms before I could fully comprehend what was happening. Juice kissed me firmly before I could ask him what he was doing here this early.

When he let me go I looked up at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" I asked.

"Can't I just be happy to see you?" Juice asked, kissing me again. He backed up when he let go and spun around, showing off the fact that he got his cut back. "I got my cut back, I'm with the girl I'm in love with, and my trial has been pushed back ten more days!" He rushed back forward and picked me up in his arms before spinning me around in a circle.

I let out a small shout of surprise until Juice put me back down. I hadn't seen Juice this happy since he got his cut stolen, and just the sight of his happy and smiling face was enough to make me feel light-headed and giddy for him. But there was a weight in the back of my mind that had been there since I received that letter.

I had decided to meet with the writer, and I had also decided not to go alone, as the letter had ordered. I had recruited two of the new prospects to accompany me there, to make sure that every would go down okay.

"There's another thing," Juice said. "Clay convinced Oswald to help us get to Ireland for Abel. We have a plane taking us there Saturday."

"That soon?" I asked, honestly shocked at the speed Oswald had gotten everything together.

Juice nodded. "That way we have enough time to get to Ireland, find Abel, and get back before our trial." I blinked at the speed of it all. Juice looked at me with a softness I wasn't fully used to yet. "I wish you could come with us, but it could be dangerous."

"Trust me, I'm fine with not coming." I said. "Life around here is dangerous and if Belfast is more dangerous, hell, I'm fine with being left behind." Juice looked at me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. I hugged him back, my mind swimming with thoughts of Ireland, the unknown writer of that letter, and the fact that I was late on my period.

* * *

The week flew by and I spent it by working as hard as I could and helping Juice pack for Ireland. He was hopeless when it came to packing for the right time. It was late October and according to Chibs, Ireland was cold this time of year. So most of Juice's backpack consisted of his various hoodies and T-shirts that he said he'd wear underneath them.

Friday morning came around and I left early with the prospects named Phil and Miles following me to Stockton. The letter hadn't said what time to meet them, but I assumed that I'd get there early in case they meant to meet me early.

I walked into the Denny's, followed by my companions, looking around the wide dining area for someone familiar. But I was interrupted by a perky waitress. "Are you Suzanne Moody?" She asked. I nodded, not able to talk suddenly. "Follow me," She said politely and she began to lead the way into the back of the restaurant. I exchanged a glance with Phil and Miles before following her. My heart began to pound in my chest as I imagined all the different people who could know something about Vince's death. I stared at the waitress's back, too nervous to look anywhere else. This caused me to nearly bump into her when she stopped abruptly and gesture to a booth.

I looked at who was sitting down and nearly walked back outside to where my car was parked.

Julia Moody was sitting on one end of the booth, her auburn hair pinned up and her face was clear of any bruises. I made a move to turn around but Julia stood up in her seat.

"Please, Suzanne!" She said. She sounded desperate. "You have to listen to me."

I turned back to Julia and stepped forward 'till we were face to face. We were the same height. "And why would I listen to a single damn word you say? After all the shit you and Duke put me through, why should I even be in your presence. Oh yeah, you guys don't _want _me in your presence thanks to those lovely disownment papers I got two months ago!"

Other people around us were starting to stare. Julia looked very sad but it didn't move me. "Please Suzanne, you don't understand. Duke was the one to file those papers, and he threatened to kill me if I didn't sign them too." She glanced around at the people around us and reached out, as if to try and coax me into sitting, but she stopped herself. "Just sit down and I'll tell you as much as I can."

At first I considered leaving her right there, it was what she deserved. But the little girl inside of me still craved for my mother's approval, so I sat down. Julia sighed and sat down opposite of me. We stared each other down before she said something. "I see you brought friends."

"Are you serious?" I snapped. "You send me some mysterious letter with no return address or name and you expect me to come alone?" I looked up to where Phil and Miles were still awkwardly standing in the aisle. "You guys can go sit somewhere nearby." They both nodded at me and shot Julia dirty looks before going to sit down a few booths away.

Julia backtracked. "I'm sorry. But I don't know where to start, Suzanne."

"Why not with the disownment papers?" I suggested.

"Like I said just a moment before, your father-"

"He's not my father," I interrupted her. "He never really was. And I've found a much better dad than he'll ever be."

Julia rolled her eyes, the same habit I had inherited from her. "Yes, I figured that Telford would be the one to take you under his wing, considering everything he went through with his own daughter-" She stopped and I stared at her with wide eyes.

"How did you know about Kerrianne?" I asked her quietly. Julia didn't answer right away, looking pale and nervous.

"I lived in Charming all my life, Suzanne," Julia said quietly. "I remember when Telford first moved into town. There aren't many Scots in Charming, so naturally everyone heard about him."

"Chibs wouldn't tell just anyone about Kerrianne," I said, my mind moving a mile a minute. Realization filled my mind and I stared at her with a new light. "You were an old lady."

Julia seemed to slump in her seat, looking defeated. "That was a different time in my life. I was twenty and I thought that I was in love."

"Who were you with?" I asked. "Chibs? Bobby?" I was listing names of the men I knew had been members back then. "Tig? Piney? Clay?"

Julia Moody had a physical reaction-a flinch when I said Clay's name.

"No way," I breathed. "You were Clay Morrow's old lady? I'm assuming this was before Gemma because she would totally kick your ass right now if you showed up to see him."

"Gemma was with J.T at the time," Julia said. "She was four years younger than me but we ruled the other old ladies. And from what I hear around town, you're with the one with the stupid haircut. If he plays his cards right, he could get high up into the club and you could become what I was."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Why do you hate Clay so much? Did he start screwing Gemma behind your back?"

"Language!" Julia snapped. "And before we get off topic again, I met Vince and Duke Moody through Clay. Clay and Vince were best friends and Duke was the younger brother, he always disapproved of the club but tolerated them because he loved his brother. And because of me.

"It didn't take me long to figure out that Clay was cheating on me with Gemma. J.T had lost it after his son Thomas died, so either he didn't notice or he didn't care about Gemma. I wanted to make Clay stop, but I was an old lady, and we're all powerless to stop our men from doing what we don't want them to: a lesson you'll soon learn."

"Get on with the story and stay out of my personal life," I snapped.

Julia sighed. "I went to Duke, and he comforted me. I fell in love with him, and he was in love with me." I snorted, but Julia ignored me. "I left Clay, and it was hard, for although I loved Duke, I still loved Clay. Clay didn't retaliate because after J.T died, he had Gemma and because I had gotten pregnant with you."

"Tragic," I muttered.

Julia glared at me. "There was something going on with J.T and Clay before J.T died, before we left Charming, and I know that by the end of Vince's life, he was scared. He was reaching out to us in Anaheim, telling us that something was wrong and that he knew something that could get people killed. And the day after he told us that, his car exploded."

I blinked at her. "That's it? That's the grand tale of sorrow that you decided to share?"

"Meet me here same time next week, and I'll tell you more." Julia said hurriedly. I stared at her.

"And why would I come back? All I heard today was the ramblings of a jealous and broken woman." I said. Julia flinched at my words but I didn't feel any sorrow for her. I felt disgust and anger.

"Please come back next week," She begged. Julia Moody was begging me. "If you don't, then you'll never hear from me again."

"Shouldn't I already not be hearing anything from you?" I asked her. Julia stared at me, tears forming behind her eyes. I stood up and gestured to the prospects, telling them that it was time to go. And I left my mother sitting there staring after me.


	45. 45: Unconditionally

The club would leave for Ireland this evening. That afternoon was a party of sorts, but a lot smaller and more like Abel's coming home party where we all hung out. I walked outside to where Clay and Bobby were grilling burgers and hot dogs.

A wave of nausea hit me with full force the second I breathed in the scent of the burgers and hot dogs. I didn't bother excusing myself from the others and I sped walked all the way to the bathroom. I hurried and locked the door before kneeling by the toilet and throwing up. I finished and used some toilet paper to wipe my mouth off. I flushed the toilet but didn't bother getting up, instead I reached into my purse and pulled out the pregnancy test I had taken just this morning.

The little blue plus sign stared back at me.

I put the test back inside my purse and buried my face in my hands. I tried to remember the last time I had my period and I struggled to think of ways to tell Juice that he was going to be a dad in less than nine months.

There was a soft knock on the door. I came out from behind my hands as Tig's voice came through the door. "Moody?" I didn't answer, which was probably a stupid thing to do. "How far along are you?"

I leapt to my feet and whipped open the door and dragged Tig in before he could say anything else. Tig stared at me with understanding in his pale eyes and I stared up at him trying to figure out how he knew.

"Before you ask," Tig said. "I just figured it out when you practically ran away from the smell of the grill. Back when my ex got pregnant, she couldn't stand the smell of cooking meat. And I know that you're a meat-loving woman, so I put it together. And don't worry, I don't think anyone else figured it out. If they did, I think there'd be a line of people outside of this bathroom."

I felt tears burn the back of my eyes and Tig saw. "C'here, hon." He pulled me tightly into a hug and I allowed myself to cry. Tig made shushing noises and began moving back and forth in a rocking motion. "It's okay, hon."

"No it's not," I said, pushing myself away from Tig. I looked up at him. "I'm guessing that I'm almost two months pregnant, I'm twenty-two, I'm still paying off college dues, oh, and my baby daddy's going to prison in a few weeks!"

Tig stared at me. "Yeah it sounds like it sucks when you put it like that." He snorted at his own joke but he got serious when he saw my expression. "Listen to me, Miss Moody; you've got steady income from that restaurant of yours, you've got a baby daddy that adores you and a whole family out there to take care of you. Compared to some girls that got pregnant out of wedlock, you've got it made."

I stared at him, still feeling slightly frantic about it. "Don't tell Juice yet, please. Don't tell Juice or Chibs or Clay or any of them while you're all in Ireland. Don't get drunk and blab it for the whole Sons of Anarchy Ireland charter to hear."

"I can't promise the drunk part but I can promise that I won't tell anyone else about little Ortiz-Moody in there until you want me to." Tig said, poking my belly. I stared at him with an exasperated expression when he said Ortiz-Moody and he tilted his head a bit. "Would you prefer little Juidy, 'cause that'll work just fine too."

I shoved Tig out of the bathroom and leaned against the door once he was gone. I tired to think of how to tell Juice, which is why I brought the test with me to the club. Maybe I could leave it for him in the bathroom? I shook my head, my head pounding with pain as I left the bathroom. I walked up to the bar and sat down, instantly thinking about each time I had alcohol in the last two months. A crow-eater saw me and instantly began to bring me a beer.

"Oh, no thanks," I said, holding my hand out to stop her. She shrugged and put the beer back into the fridge. "Could you get me a water instead, please?" I asked. The crow-eater nodded and brought me a water bottle. I opened it and took a sip as the rest of the club came back inside, the meat from the grill finally finished. I casually covered my nose with my mouth as Bobby carried it past me.

Juice's eyes found me and walked right towards me. He took the seat right beside me and rubbed my back a little. "Are you okay?" Juice asked. "You kinda rushed away from everyone back there."

Tig, who had been standing on the other side of the bar, glanced up at me. I met Juice's eyes and smiled at him. "Yeah, just felt a little sick." Tig rolled his eyes and walked over to the crow-eater to get a beer. Juice didn't see Tig though, and he gave me a small smile.

"Okay, well hopefully you get better by the time I get back." Juice said. He kissed my neck and I couldn't help but chuckle. Just the mere presence of Juice was able to make my stomach twist and do backflips. But now the reaction was double due to the idea that I was carrying his kid.

I don't know why whenever people talked about love, they talk about the heart. Everything that happened with Juice happened in my stomach.

We all finished our lunch and the club packed up all of their stuff to go to the air port lot. Clay, Jax, and Tig left early to go say goodbye to Gemma at the hospital. Bobby started up the van and Happy got into the van's passenger seat. Bobby looked outside the window and shouted, "C'mon let's head out!" Lizzy the crow-eater rushed forward to give Bobby a goodbye kiss.

Chibs hugged me tightly and kissed that spot right between my eyes. "We'll see ya when we get home, Moody. Hold down the fort for us, lass."

"I will, don't worry," I said. Chibs released me and put his sunglasses on his face before heading towards the van.

"Love ya, Moody." He yelled at me over his shoulder. I waved goodbye to Chibs and turned to face Juice, who had put his backpack around his shoulders and was waiting for me to give him attention. I laughed at him as he started bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking like an oversized kid going to school.

"You ready to go?" I asked Juice.

"Just about," He said right before planting a kiss on my mouth. He straightened up and looked down at me with that big smile on his face. "Now I think I'm ready. Wait for me?"

"I always do," I said. Juice smiled widely at me and squeezed my arm before kissing me again. I held onto him tightly, not really ready to let him go yet. Bobby honked the horn at us and Juice held up his hand and gave Bobby the finger, causing a giant uproar of laughing from the van. I released Juice and locked eyes with him. "I love you, Juice."

"I love you too, Moody," He said before kissing my forehead. "I'll see you in a week." Juice walked away from me and to the van. I watched it drive away, my heart feeling heavy and pressed my hand against my stomach.


	46. 46: The Love I Meant To Say

I got a call from Unser the next day. "Um, hey Unser. What can I do for you?"

The former sheriff sighed on the other side. "I'm calling you to inform you that Tig's been arrested. And that Gemma has escaped from the hospital, some heat can come down on the club for this."

"Hang on," I said, putting the phone down to walk into my extra bedroom in my apartment. The safe in the room was locked up tight. I put the phone back to my ear. "How much is Tig's bail?"

Half an hour later I was at the police department with a thousand dollars and was posting Tig's bail. He came out of the holding cell, holding his cut in his hand and talking to Hale. Whatever Hale was saying, it was pissing Tig off.

Tig walked up to me and put his arm around my neck. "Thanks, Moody."

"What's new with you?" I asked him. Hale rolled his eyes and looked at me.

"He's upset because his license has been revoked," Hale said. I narrowed my eyes at him and looked back up to Tig. He was glaring at Hale. My eyes traveled around the police station and saw some new faces.

"Are they some of the new people you were talking about?" I asked Hale. He followed my gaze and nodded.

"All from the Sheriff's Department," He said giving Tig a pointed look. Tig sneered at him and we walked out of the police department together.

Tig followed me to my car and had an expression on his face that said that he wanted to talk. "Thanks for bailing me out, hon."

"You're welcome," I said.

"Listen, don't go doing anything crazy while the club's away." Tig said abruptly when we got in the car. I stared at him. "Like, I know you're not ready for a kid and we won't know how Juice feels until you tell him, but don't go in for an abortion or anything like that."

"You really think I'd do that?" I asked him, appalled at him. "Tig, I still don't know if I want this kid but I'm not going to kill it. I want to know what Juice wants before I do anything." I paused. "Besides, this kid is fifty percent Juice."

"And it's fifty percent you," Tig added. He sighed. "Moody the club will need some good news, even when they bring Abel back home, imagine having more good news about another tyke running around the clubhouse. That, and I think everyone agrees that you're a great parent."

I felt my face heat up when Tig said these things. "You really think that, Tig?"

Tig nodded. "Yeah. And I'm telling you that no matter you and Juice decide to do, the club is going to back you both up." We were at a stoplight and I took this time to reach over and hug Tig. He hugged me back as much as he could while strapped into the car, and the light turned green.

* * *

The next week was pretty uneventful as far as a week without the club was concerned. I spent most of it with Lyla and Ellie in the clubhouse, with Tara at her house where she'd complain to me about her supervisor, and then there was Tig, who had apparently proclaimed himself my guardian for the week and took his new job extremely seriously.

I remembered how Tig had stressed to me not to get an abortion, and with the way he practically hovered over me, I was beginning to wonder how many abortions happened within the club...

It was the day I was supposed to meet Julia again. The time was fast approaching and I desperately wanted to skip it and never hear from her again. But she had seemed so desperate at the Denny's, she had seemed like it was life or death if I showed up or not.

_So what?_ A voice in my head was asking me. _She signed those papers along with Duke. She doesn't have the right._

I put my hand on my stomach and thought about the child growing inside of there. A wave of morning sickness hit me and I practically ran to the bathroom. When I finished, Tig and Kozik were standing at the bar. Kozik was giving me an amused look.

"Sick, Moody?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I replied absentmindedly. Tig reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum before tossing it at me. I quickly unwrapped a stick of gum and popped it into my mouth.

Tara entered the club, looking tired and stressed. She greeted Tig and Kozik but made immediate eye contact with me. "Sue, can I talk you, please?"

I nodded, following Tara outside. Tig looked like he was going to follow but he held himself back and turned back to Kozik. The sky was cloudy and gray when Tara and I left the clubhouse. I shuddered at the chilly temperature and pulled my hoodie around my body tighter. Tara leaned against the bars that the bikes were usually parked against and began to watch the new prospects build the playground on the other side of the fenced in area.

Phil had finished laying out the plastic grass on top of the concrete and Miles was working on building the actual playground. I could see now that it'd be a fun area for Abel to play on when he was older.

_And your child_, that voice in my head reminded me. I glanced over at Tara. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked.

Tara looked at me with an expression that I had come to know-because it the same expression I had kept on my face ever since I found I out I was pregnant. She let out a short laugh. "I'm guessing by the look on your face you guessed that I'm pregnant."

"Yeah," I said. Before I could stop myself I blurted out, "And I'm pregnant too."

Tara looked at me with wide eyes. "Oh my God, Sue! How far along are you?"

"About two months," I said, having finally put the time together. "How about you?"

"Just under a month," Tara said. "I found out last night."

"I found out literally the day the club left for Ireland."

"Juice doesn't know?" Tara asked sharply.

"Does Jax know?" I fired back. Tara looked away from me and back to where the prospects were building the playground. I followed her gaze and shook my head. "I hate the whole no communicating with them while they're not here. Not that I would tell Juice over the phone while he's on the other side of the world, but I just want to hear his voice."

Tara looked back at me and gave me a sad smile. "I know how you feel. No one else knows about my pregnancy, does anybody else know about yours?"

I jerked my head back to the clubhouse. "Tig does. He put it together right after I did."

"No wonder he's been so clingy with you for the past week." Tara said. "That's nice of him to keep you safe while the club's away."

"Good guy, Tig," I muttered. We silenced ourselves when Phil walked past us to go back into the clubhouse. I was just about to go back inside when my phone began to ring inside my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the caller I.D, not recognizing it. "Do you know this number?" I asked Tara, showing her the number.

"That's the hospital's number." Tara said softly. I quickly answered it, slightly afraid as to what I'd hear.

"Is this Suzanne Moody?" A woman's voice asked. I confirmed that I was who I was. "I'm calling you to tell you that your friend, Kip Epps, had woken up."

My breath caught in my throat. "He did?"

"Yes, and because he doesn't have any immediate family members, he insisted that we call you first. He said that he wants to see you."

"I'll be right there," I said and hung up before looking at Tara. "Half-Sack's awake."

"What are we waiting for?" Tara asked. "Let's go!"

"We have to tell the other first," I said distractedly and called out to the prospect. "Get Tig and the others!" Miles ran off to do what I said and Tara hurried to her car to get it started. Tig, Kozik, Miles, and Phil ran out of the clubhouse followed closely by Piney. They all looked pretty freaked out.

"What happened?" Tig asked me immediately. He was looking down at my belly and pointed to it just a little bit, but it was enough to catch Piney and Kozik's eyes. They both looked at me with wide and understanding eyes as I shook Tig off me. I quickly explained that Sack was awake and that he was waiting for us at the hospital.

Kozik, and Piney practically flew to their bikes and Tig and the prospects ran to the van. I hurried into the passenger seat of Tara's Cutlass and we made a pretty odd looking parade heading towards the hospital.

When we got into Sack's new room, he was sitting up in his bed, eating a meal of what looked like plastic chicken with gravy on top. He pretty much shoved the fake-looking food out of his way as he moved forward in bed to get to us faster. I rushed forward and hugged him tighter than I ever had. He did the same and I could feel every movement of his malnourished body.

I let him go and stood up. "I am cooking you actual food when we get home." I announced. Sack laughed and he greeted his fellow club members and met the new prospects. The hospital released Sack after that, seeing as they waited for his tests to be finished before calling me.

I kept my word and cooked a huge meal for everyone at the clubhouse that night, including Lyla, Piper, Kenny, and Ellie. Ellie and Tig helped out with a lot of the cooking, and Piney sat at the bar keeping his eye on me. He and Kozik both knew about my pregnancy now, but they weren't being loudmouthed about it, for which I was grateful.

After saying goodnight to my adopted family, I went back into Juice's room and looked around at the clutter. Tonight would be the first time I had spent the night here since he left and I saw that it looked like he hadn't left. Absentmindedly, I began to pick up some of his stuff, throwing the dirty laundry into the basket shoved in the corner of the room. When I was finished, I laid down in the bed and immediately noticed that something with his pillow was different. I lifted it up and stared at what I found.

The scarf that I been missing since Abel's coming home party. Had it been in Juice's room this whole time? I had been in here with him several times since Abel's party, so Juice must've found it and put it under his pillow for safe-keeping...

I sighed and laid back down on the bed, one hand on my stomach and the other winding my scarf around my fingers.


	47. 47: Never Stop

The club was returning tonight. The crow-eaters really out-did themselves for their arrival, polishing the entire clubhouse, dusting, and making sure everything was nice and clean. Sack went around helping them, not wearing his cut. Tig had said that it would be inappropriate for Sack to wear his prospect cut, and they all wanted to wait for the club to come home to patch him in.

I kept myself busy by cooking a feast for when they got home. But I had to have Kozik do the grilling of the hamburgers and hotdogs, I still couldn't stand the smell of cooking meat and Tara now had a low tolerance for it as well. Chuck also wanted to help, so he spent the day following me around and helping me with whatever I was working on. His finger stumps were still useless, but he was getting a hell of a lot better.

"What're you planning on telling Juice?" Tig asked me when Chuck had left to go find some ketchup for the burgers and hotdogs.

"I'm not entirely sure," I said honestly. "I took another test and I'm thinking of showing him that."

Tig shrugged and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," He said. "Better than what my ex did."

"What'd she do?" I asked.

"She said, 'Alex, I'm pregnant. Pay child support.'" Tig said with a shrug and a smirk.

I frowned. "I realized that I never knew that you had kids. How many?"

"Two; Dawn and Fawn." Tig said. He saw my expression and shook his head at me. "Don't ask." The day seemed to drag on and, after what felt like forever, the sound of rumbling motorcycles filled the air. The crow-eaters that had been inside all scurried outside and they were followed more slowly by the prospects, Chuck, Kozik, and Piney. Tig patted my shoulder before heading out after them. I locked eyes with Tara as we both exited the building last.

Tara and I stood on the edge of the crowd as the club members greeted each other first. I glanced over at her. "You telling Jax?"

"Yep," Tara said, sounding nervous. "You telling Juice?" I nodded and our conversation was cut short by Jax rushing over to Tara and sweeping her into his arms. I took a step back from them, giving them their space and I nearly ran into someone else. I looked up and saw Chibs right before he hugged me tightly.

"Gah, I missed ya, Miss Moody!" Chibs exclaimed, still hugging me tight enough to crush my ribcage. He released me and I allowed myself to breathe a little. "Fiona says 'ello, and you've got a pen pal now." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to me right before running off to go greet somebody else. I folded the envelope and stuffed it into my pocket before searching the crowd for any sign of Juice. But, oddly enough, I couldn't find the Mohawk anywhere...

Suddenly, I felt someone's fingers trail up my neck and a pair of brown hands covered my eyes. I laughed as Juice voice sounded right beside my ear, "Guess who."

I grabbed his hands and pulled them off of my eyes before turning around to face him. Juice's smile was so big it was making his eyes squint. I reached out and touched his face before getting on my tip toes to kiss him. Juice's hands found their way into my hair and we separated after a few seconds. I stared into those brown eyes and felt happier than I had all week.

Clay called the men into a chapel meeting and I let Juice go, knowing that I had to tell him right when the meeting was over. I took the time without him to read my "pen pal" letter that Chibs had given me. I sat at the bar and read over the letter that Fiona and Kerrianne had sent back with Chibs. It was mostly Fiona doing the writing, but every now and then Kerrianne's handwriting would interrupt her mother's. The letter basically boiled down to Fiona thanking me for _"taking care of Fillip __for Kerrianne and myself"_ and also telling me that she expected a letter back from me because she wanted Kerrianne to make friends with me.

The chapel doors opened and the club headed straight to the bar. Kozik got to the fridge first and began to pass out beers, but he passed a water bottle to me. I began drinking my drink as Gemma approached me with Abel sitting in her arms. I put the water down and took Abel from Gemma, the baby squealed when he saw me and I laughed, happy to have him back home.

Gemma looked at me carefully. "Since when d'you drink water over beer?"

I shrugged. "It's ten in the morning, Gemma." She didn't reply, but just glanced up at Kozik. Kozik avoided her gaze and began to talk with Tig. Half-Sack was talking to Clay and Jax, all three of them wearing big smiles on their faces. Bobby and Happy were chatting up some crow-eaters, and they were all smiling too. I smiled to myself and relaxed in my seat.

Juice took the seat right next to me with a beer in his hand. "So did I miss anything exciting this week?" He asked, poking Abel's little foot.

This was it, I thought to myself. I handed Abel to the nearest person-Lyla with Opie at her shoulder-and got up and began walking to Juice's room. I didn't check to see if he was following me or not, but when I entered the room Juice was right behind me, looking concerned. I closed the door behind him and he sat down on the bed, staring at me hard. I glanced at him and walked into the bathroom to where I had put the positive pregnancy test in the sink. I picked it up with a shaky hand and went back into the bedroom.

Juice saw immediately what was in my hands and he stiffened. I swallowed and handed it to him; he held it carefully and stared at the little blue plus sign. I sat down on the bed next to him and waited for him to say something.

I felt a nudge on my arm and looked up to see him watching me carefully. "How far along are you?" He asked quietly.

"About two months," I said. He nodded and looked back down to the test. I felt tears sting my eyes as I watched him, waiting for him to start getting mad or something. Juice must've felt me watching me because he looked back up at me. "Aren't you going to say something?" I asked.

"Yeah," Juice said before getting off the bed to stand in front of me. I felt like someone just punched a hole in my chest as it seemed that Juice was about to walk out on me. But instead he did something that I never expected him to do: he got down on one knee.

"Juice, what are you doing?" I asked him in a quiet voice.

"I'm asking you to marry me," Juice said simply. He reached forward and grabbed my left hand. "I don't have a ring but I can get one. Moody-I love you. And I've known for a long time that I want you to be the one I'm with for the rest of my life. Believe me, I've been thinking about this for longer than you'd probably believe, but once I got the idea in my head, I never stopped thinking of it. And I know we're not really a normal couple, but screw it, let's go get married."

I hadn't really heard a word he said after he said "marry me", because I was so surprised and touched and thrilled that I couldn't hear anything else.

"Yes," I said. "Yes, yes, yes!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him and he lifted me off my feet and spun me around once before putting my feet back on the ground.

"Before I go inside," Juice said breathlessly. "Let's get married before I go to Stockton: I want to go there knowing that your name is Suzanne Ortiz." I laughed which caused him to laugh too.

We left Juice's room about twenty minutes later, and I couldn't see Jax or Tara anywhere so I assumed she had taken him somewhere private to tell him about her pregnancy. I looked up at Juice and let out a short laugh when I saw that he still had that big smile on his face. Tig and Kozik, who had both been standing at the bar, both gave me a thumbs up.


	48. 48: Anywhere But Here

That night, I was standing in city hall, signing my name on a document that said that I was legally married to Juan Carlos Ortiz. The only people in the room were the judge who commissioned it, the club members, Tara and Lyla, and, of course, Juice. When we were both done signing, the judge said, "If there is anything that anyone would like to say-"

He was cut off by Chibs, who made him move over just by narrowing his dark eyes at him. I exchanged a glance with Juice; he shrugged, telling me that he didn't know what Chibs was doing either. Chibs looked between the two of us and smiled. He said something in Irish that I didn't understand a word of, and judging by the blank look on Juice's face, he didn't get it either. But then Chibs went back and translated himself for everyone in the room.

"May God be with you and bless you, may you see your children's children, may you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessin's, may you know nothin' but happiness, from this day forward." Chibs said, reaching out and grabbing my hand along with Juice's. When he finished speaking he pressed our hands together and Juice threaded his fingers around mine. He met my eyes and then Juice's. "I'm proud of both of ya." With that, he nodded back at the judge and walked back to where he had been standing before.

The judge looked back at me and Juice. "If that is all, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz." Juice wasted no time planting a kiss on me and the club cheered loudly from behind us.

We left city hall as everyone began to get on their motorcycles. Bobby looked at me curiously. "Does this mean we got to call you Ortiz now?"

"I'm still calling her Moody," Tig said as he passed by. He kissed the top of my head and slapped Juice on the shoulder. Tara and Lyla rushed over to me and they both hugged me tightly. Everyone got onto their bikes, and began to drive off. Juice had his bike follow them at the back of the pack, and we broke away from the others as they continued to the clubhouse, and we headed to Juice's house.

* * *

The club's trial date was two days after Juice and I tied the knot. The club got busy trying to get Jimmy away from the Russian mob just north of us. I went to work and broke the news to all of my employees right before Moody's opened. The reactions I got were the ones I had expected. They were all extremely happy for me and Shelly even cried. I got her a tissue and she said that she was crying tears of pride and happiness.

After work that evening, I pulled Valerie aside. "I heard that you were having problems with your land lord." I said. "If you want, I'd be willing to rent out the apartment upstairs. It'd come fully furnished, I just have to get my stuff out of there."

Valerie blinked at me. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because I don't want just anyone to have it." Valerie smiled at me and hugged me, accepting my offer on renting my apartment. So I got Tara, Lyla, Miles, and Phil helping me get my stuff out of the apartment. The prospects had found themselves not being busy so naturally I had them help me again.

We had just finished moving the last of my stuff into Juice's house when Miles pulled me aside. "Phil and I were wondering if we should be worried about that woman you met about two weeks ago." He said curtly.

I snorted. "No, you don't have to worry. Besides, I missed the date she wanted to meet again, so I won't be hearing from her ever again." Miles nodded and left with Phil.

* * *

The next evening I was at the clubhouse when Tara drove her Cutlass into the lot. Phil and Miles were with her. I walked outside with Gemma and Lyla right behind me. Tara pulled the Cutlass inside the garage and when she left the garage, Phil wasted no time closing up the garage. He and Miles then stood guard outside the doors. Tara walked up to us, shedding her oversized black hoodie revealing a bullet proof vest.

"Could you help me get this off?" She asked me. I obliged and the club rumbled into the lot soon after I got it off of her. Gemma headed straight for Clay and I couldn't help but think about what Julia had told me. I couldn't imagine her as Clay's old lady; if she hadn't chosen Duke over Clay, she'd be the one kissing Clay right now. But then I wouldn't be alive.

Juice walked up to me and kissed the top of my head. "Thinking about what Julia told you?" He asked. I had told him everything-the letter, Julia, and every word she had said. He had been a tad annoyed that I hadn't taken him but he got over it.

"Yeah," I said before looking up at him. Juice had a severely guilty expression on his face. I turned until I was facing him directly. "Hey, don't go feeling bad."

"But you're going to be pregnant while I'm in prison," He said with a large amount of self-loathing. "I won't be there for you at all during it. You're going to have it alone, and I'm going to miss who knows how much of their life."

"I won't be completely alone," I gently reminded him. "Chibs, Opie, Gemma, and quite a few others are going to be here for me."

Juice locked eyes with me. "You know what I mean." He was interrupted by a large police van pulling into the lot followed by two black, government-looking cars, and a cop car that said Sheriff's Department on it. My heart jumped up into my throat and I held onto Juice's hand as the authorities began to approach the club. I saw one of the new cops come out of the Sheriff's Department car with Sheriff Hale. He was a black man with a strict-looking face. When he was close enough, I read his nametag and it said Roosevelt.

Agent Stahl strutted straight up to Clay. "I'm here for Jimmy O'Fallon." She said in a know-it-all voice. Clay frowned at her and I glanced up at Juice, who was standing rigidly and was staring at her.

Clay turned to the closed garage door and nodded at Phil and Miles, who opened the door and brought Jimmy from out of the back of Tara's car. As a few of the ATF agents took Jimmy from them, Jimmy sneered at Clay and said something about the luck of the Irish. Clay glared at him and looked back at Stahl. "How'd you know he was here?"

Stahl didn't say anything, just looked over at Jax and held up the blue folder in her hand. "Your V.P made a deal." She said.

I stared at Jax, fear for him forming inside of me. Beside me, Juice looked shell-shocked and pissed off. The entire club turned to stare at Jax with looks of betrayal and Bobby screamed, "You _ratted_?!"

"I did it for the club!" Jax yelled back.

Gemma rushed forward. "He didn't have a choice! She forced him to do it!" She tried to block the club from Jax, but Happy shoved her aside roughly. The feds began to grab any member of SAMCRO they could get their hands on.

"You're dead!" Clay screamed at Jax. "You hear me? You're _dead_!" Gemma was crying and Lyla had put her arm around her shoulders. The feds began to drag the men to the cop car to search them for weapons.

Juice seemed to realize in an instant what was happening and he practically ran back to where I was standing with Gemma and Lyla and Tara. Juice wrapped his arms around me tightly, almost to the point where it was painful, but I held onto him just as tightly. I knew that I wouldn't get to see him in a long time. "I love you, Suzanne Ortiz." Juice whispered in my ear.

"I love you too," I said.

The new cop's voice sounded from right beside us. "Alright, you said goodbye. Now let go." His hand roughly grabbed my arm to force me away from Juice, and Juice had a physical reaction to the new cop putting his hand on me. Juice knocked Roosevelt's arm off of me and a fed rushed in to grab ahold of him. Roosevelt and Juice held each other's heated gaze for a moment.

"If you _ever _lay a hand on my wife again, I swear to God I will break your arm." Juice spat at him. The fed dragged him away and Roosevelt glared after him. Tears spilled from my eyes and I felt Tara put her hand on my shoulder. The men were loaded into the large van and it began to pull away. Miles and Phil hurried onto their bikes and rode after it.

"That bitch just signed off on his death," Gemma whispered before breaking into more sobs. Hale looked at the four of us-myself, Gemma, Tara, and Lyla-like he was not sure what to say. His new partner, Roosevelt, muttered something into his ear that I didn't catch and the two cops looked at us.

"We will inform you ladies about visitation right when we get the information." Hale said, sounding a bit awkward.

Gemma spat on him, her pain and fury lashing out at him. "Screw you! Screw both of you!" Lyla began to take Gemma towards her car and I started to follow more slowly. But Hale stopped me.

"We have to follow Gemma to her home so that we can set her under house arrest," He explained quickly. I didn't say anything and got into Lyla's car with her and Gemma. Tara went to her own home. We drove to Gemma's house with the cops tailing us. When we were inside, Hale set Gemma up with the foot bracelet as fast as he could before leaving, both him and Roosevelt looking out of place and awkward.

Gemma took Abel from the babysitter and went into her room. Lyla made coffee and we sipped our coffee silently. After we finished our first cups of coffee, Lyla turned to me. "You should go get a check-up done. To make sure that your kid is healthy."

I nodded absentmindedly. "I'll get that done this week then."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Lyla asked. "I know that usually the dad comes with, but I went alone for my first check-up and I regretted not forcing anyone into coming with me."

I blinked at her. "I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Lyla."

She shrugged and smiled at me. "What're friends for?" There was a knock at the door and I answered it to see Miles and Phil standing there.

"Here you go, Moody-Suzanne," Phil said, trying to correct himself. "What d'you want me to call you?"

"Moody is still fine," I said, taking the envelope from him and the two men went upstairs to go deliver a letter to Gemma. I tore it open and Lyla watched me carefully. I read the letter and let out a short laugh. "You're kidding me."

_Dear Moody, If you're reading this, then Stahl and Jimmy are dead. And don't go freaking out about Jax, he'll be fine. It was all planned: Jax let us know about Stahl's deal and we came up with the scheme of pretending like we all wanted Jax dead. I'm sorry I won't be there for you during your pregnancy, but I talked to Chibs and he said that he said he'll help you out with whatever you need. I hope you can visit me in Stockton soon; when you do come, expect a list of baby names. I've got seven months to think of some. And we'll be getting out in three years, instead of fifteen. It'll be fourteen months with good behavior, so let's hope that we don't start killing each other while we're in there. I love you, Mrs. Ortiz. Juice._


	49. 49: When They're Gone

Barely a few weeks after Juice and the others were arrested, I tried to find something of his that hadn't begun to fade away. I couldn't leave his-or _our _house in its state of uncleanliness, so that didn't last long. I hadn't washed the sheets, but the smell that was Juice was just about gone. His pillow smelt like an ordinary pillowcase. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, wishing as hard as I could for Juice to walk in the door, and for the whole prison thing to have just been a bad dream for the both of us.

Just as Lyla had promised, she came with me to my first doctor's appointment. I had been shaking when the doctor smeared the gel onto my belly, and I had felt my heart leapt into my throat when I saw the first image of my child. It was just a black and white and fuzzy screening of a tiny blob, but it was my kid, and Juice's. The doctor printed off the image and handed it to me.

Within the first month of the club being gone, Salazar reared his ugly head again. Chibs, Opie, Kozik, Piney, Sack, and the prospects had put the clubhouse on lockdown again and we stayed that way for about a week. Gemma was forced to stay at her house though, now under house arrest for three months. A week into the lockdown, the men came back home with news that Salazar was dead, killed by the man running the Mayans, much to the disappointment of the club. Apparently, Salazar had known something about Hale's older brother that could get rid of him. But that went down the drain and we were all told that everything should go back to "normal". Whatever that was now.

I didn't start getting bigger until around the end of my first trimester. Tara's pregnancy was a month behind mine, but we were basically on the same schedule as far as pregnancies go. She didn't get rounder until after I did. Her cravings didn't really start until mine did. And every time something happened, Gemma demanded that we go to her place to talk to her. And the second Chibs heard that I was having cravings now, he launched into an explosion of over-protective and fatherly concern.

One thing I seemed to always be craving was Cheese-Wiz. And one day I was raiding the clubhouse for Cheese-Wiz, remembering that I had seen a can of it somewhere the day before. Chibs caught me searching and the second he found out what it was I looking for, he took his bike to the store and came back fifteen minutes later with five fresh cans of Cheese-Wiz. "I don' know how much ya want." He explained the amount of Cheese-Wiz with a shrug.

Hale's older brother won the election for mayor. And the first thing he did with his power of mayor, was begin to clear out a large section of the woods on the outskirts of town. When the remaining members of the club heard, they were pissed and Piney wasted no time running up to the Stockton prison to visit Jax to tell him.

About a month after Mayor Hale rose to power, his younger brother fell out of power. The cop named Roosevelt had actually been from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department. Mayor Hale pushed out his own brother from the police department so that Charming would fall under the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County. This had caused some major disruptions for the club, who needed at least one of the new cops on their payroll and couldn't break any of the new ones. But other than that, Roosevelt didn't mess with us much.

I found out that Roosevelt had a wife. They came in a few times in the restaurant and Mrs. Roosevelt seemed pretty nice, she owned a flower shop just a few stores down. But when Lieutenant Roosevelt saw me getting rounder, he would give me long looks that screamed that he knew who I was involved with and that he visibly disapproved. I ignored him as best as I could and I continued to wait impatiently for every Saturday, when visitation was open.

Visiting Juice was just as sad as I had thought it'd be. We were separated by a glass window and had to speak to one another through the phone. He had shaved his head completely when he first got to prison, so that his hair didn't grow out unevenly again. And just like he had promised in his letter, he had already composed a list of baby names. Twelve for a boy and about ten for a girl.

"These are the ones I could come up with." He said, holding the clip of paper against the glass. "You don't have your phone on you, do you? So you can take a picture?"

"No, it's a government building so no phones." I said with an eye roll. "But I like these." I read and reread the list he made, trying to memorize them so that I could write them down later. "How's everyone else doing in there?"

"Clay's started a bet with everyone on whether it's a boy or a girl," Juice said with a smile. "So far Clay, Happy, and Tig are betting boy. Jax and Bobby are voting girl."

"And what about you?" I asked him, noticing that he didn't put his name into the list.

"They're not letting me cast a vote," Juice said. I laughed and told him that I'd see what the other club members thought and tell him the results. And then visitation time was over and I was escorted from the room with the rest of the people visiting their convicts.

I did a good job remembering the names that were on Juice's list. Chibs read most of them and then casted his vote for a girl. Phil made two glass jars, one for me and one for Tara, and set it on the bar counter after putting a strip of duct tape around it that read "Gender Votes". The idea was that everyone could put a vote in for the gender for both my child and Tara's, you could only vote one time for each, and the fathers weren't allowed to vote for their own kid. I sent in the votes that Juice gave me and Jax called Tara, letting her know about who voted for what regarding their child. It wasn't just members who voted: crow-eaters, mechanics, and even Unser came in to cast their opinions.

For Tara, it was a pretty close tie between boy and girl. For me, everyone was leaning towards a boy.

Chibs took me to the appointment that confirmed my child's gender. Juice really wanted to know; not only because it was his child, but he wanted to limit the names on his list as much as he could. Chibs walked with me to the appointment and I flinched again when the cold gel was smoothed on my belly. Chibs squeezed my wrist as the picture came up on the screen.

The doctor looked at the screen for a long moment before smiling widely at me. "You see that right there? Those are her legs developing."

"Her?" I asked sharply. The doctor smiled at me and I smiled broadly with a glance at Chibs. He was smiling as well and I got another ultrasound picture of my daughter.

A month later, Tara got the results that she was going to have a son. The club threw another small breakfast party, this time hosted at Gemma's house. Her ankle bracelet was coming off in a week, so we went ahead and celebrated that as well. Juice sent me a letter with all the girl names he had come up with and how he couldn't wait to meet our daughter. That made two of us.

As far as the authorities went in those first seven months, the Sheriff's Department had taken over Charming. There were more cops, all wearing black uniforms, and the construction of the new condos was being supervised very closely by the cops. It wasn't for the workers, it was to make sure that the remaining members didn't try anything stupid.

"You're not gonna try anything stupid, are you?" I asked Chibs at the restaurant one day. Ever since I started to get rounder, the remaining members had taken turns coming to the restaurant to help me run the place. It was Chibs's turn and he had put on his glasses so that he could see what he was doing.

"Like what?" He asked, turning his attention from the roast he'd be slicing up. "Bomb the construction sight? We don' need all the members behind bars, Moody."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked him, smiling slightly. Chibs smiled back and nudged my belly gently.

"Your kid's gonna be lucky," He said. "She's gonna be spoiled the second she comes out of there, between you ownin' this place and Juice being Juice, and also me."

"She's gonna have a big-ass family, that's for sure," I said, imagining it.

As time went on, the life for the club was, in some ways, peaceful. And in other aspects, it was hectic. It was peaceful because there wasn't a lot of authority disputes or anything like that, even though the new cop named Roosevelt seemed to be keeping an annoyingly close eye on anyone associated with the club. But it was hectic because there wasn't a lot of gun-running business for the club due to the act that several of the groups they used to do business with didn't think that the Sons were enough to handle it now.

And the whole time, Tara and I were getting bigger and rounder. I attended all of my doctor appointments with either Lyla or Chibs or occasionally Half-Sack. I was six months pregnant and very round when one day Shelly came back into the kitchen, where I had been baking with Chibs helping me, and she said that someone was there to see me. Shelly's face had been pale and she had looked scared to death. I exchanged a glance with Chibs and looked out to see who it was.

Julia Moody was drumming her fingers on the bar, looking nervous at being in her late brother-in-law's restaurant. I hissed and told Shelly to bring Julia to my office. Chibs followed me into the office, refusing to let me be alone with her. Chibs dragged a chair behind my desk and when Julia entered, she stopped short when she saw that I was with Chibs.

"I thought I could speak to you alone, Suzanne." She said, sitting down across from me. My desk was covering up my stomach.

"You already shouldn't be here," I said. "What part of 'you'll never hear from me again' did you not understand?"

Julia frowned at me. "You've gained weight." She noted. I exchanged a glance with Chibs and he looked at Julia with a disgusted look on his face.

"You're just like I remember, Julia," Chibs snapped at her. "Anyone who doesn't fit your perfect image is worthless." He looked like he was going to spit on her but I gave him a look, letting him know not to spit on my clean floor. Julia looked back at me and her eyes widened.

"You're pregnant," She whispered. I stared at her, giving her the answer. She sat up a little straighter in her chair, trying to get a glimpse of my belly. She let out a soft noise and covered her mouth. Chibs glared at her from his seat and I kept my face blank. She looked at me with unmasked disappointment in her face. "Did you not use protection?" She asked, the disappointment clear in her voice.

Chibs hissed softly. "Unbelievable,"

"I can't believe you're making me a grandmother at my age." Julia said through her teeth.

I leaned forward in my seat. "You honestly think I'm going to let you be a grandmother?" Julia froze and stared at me. "Biologically speaking, yes you're a grandmother. But legally, thanks to the disownment papers, you're not even related to my child. You're not going to see her, let alone be a grandmother to her. My daughter will _never _call you grandma."

Julia stared at me with rage in her face. "You can't do that."

"Yes I can," I said. "And I just did. So get out of my restaurant and if I ever see your face in here-in this town again, you're dead." I held Julia's gaze for a long moment before she stormed out of my office. I deflated and looked at Chibs. He was looking back at me with raised eyebrows.

Then he snorted with amusement. "You're ice cold, Moody."

* * *

My due date was any day now. It was three thirty in the morning on May fourth when I woke up, feeling as though I pissed myself. But there wasn't the smell of urine and the wetness was almost immediately followed by a slight cramp that lasted for about thirty seconds.

"Oh shit," I muttered before crawling out of bed as carefully as I could. I began to carefully move around Juice's room, packing the last minute things for the hospital like my toothbrush and articles of clothes that I had around his room. My doctor had said when I first feel the contractions, I should try and remain relaxed and until I went to the hospital. I carried my bag to the bar in the clubhouse and sat it down. I glanced at the time: it was barely four o'clock. I wandered around the clubhouse, breathing deeply and straightening the place up, trying to keep my mind off the labor.

After the my contractions began coming faster, I followed Chibs's orders for me to alert him about what was happening. I waddled to his bedroom door and began knocking. He answered the door after about a full minute of me standing there. Chibs took one look at me and understood immediately.

"C'mon, Miss Moody," He said in a hurried whisper and he rushed to get me into the Buick and he drove me to the hospital. When we got there, he called every single one of the remaining club members to alert them that I was in labor.


	50. 50: Birth

I was sitting in a wheelchair as Chibs talked to the receptionist, trying to get in contact with my doctor, a nice man named Dr. Kerman. He arrived soon after he was paged and we went to the room that would be mine. He did a quick inspection of me to see if my daughter was coming yet, but he just shook his head and said that it could still be several hours before I actually started to give birth.

"You're kidding me?" I asked him just as a contraction passed. He nodded.

"As your contractions come more frequently, you should begin your breathing exercises and you might want to start walking around the hospital." Kerman said. He looked at Chibs, who had been standing protectively at my shoulder. "Do you know how far apart her contractions are?"

Chibs glanced down at the timer he had brought with him to time my contractions. It had been Tara's idea to have someone keep track of those contractions with that timer. She chose Gemma to time hers, and I had chosen Chibs.

"About ten minutes," Chibs said. Kerman nodded.

"Alright then, you should probably take some laps around the hospital, drink plenty of water, and you need to urinate every so often." Kerman said.

"We'll stop at every bathroom then," Chibs said curtly. He wrapped one arm around me, with that hand holding onto his timer. And his other hand grabbed onto mine and he walked me out of the room and into the hallway.

We walked around the hospital hallways several times as my contractions got closer together. I stopped as a particularly bad one caused me to slump against a wall with Chibs holding me up straight. When the contraction passed, I straightened myself, breathless. "I'm going to kill him," I said with a certain amount of anger.

"Who? The doctor?" Chibs asked, resuming our turtle-paced walk.

"No," I said. "Juice. Next time he can go buy fresh condoms." A wave of nausea hit me like a truck and I dove forward to the nearest trash can to puke in it. Chibs was right behind me, holding my hair out of my face and rubbing my back. When I finished, I looked back at Chibs. "On second thought, I'll kill the doctor too."

We were on our second time around the floor when Lyla rounded the corner and found us. She rushed forward to hug me briefly before handing me a can of...pineapple juice? I raised an eyebrow at her.

"When I was having Piper my mom gave me pineapple juice and it helped with the pain." Lyla explained. "Another thing I did in labor was my mom said that if you massage your breasts then it gets the hormones going and helps with the pain too."

"Your mom is crazy," I muttered as a new contraction hit me. I gritted my teeth and Chibs and Lyla helped me back to my room. Kerman came back in shortly and Lyla was made to leave. I cracked open the pineapple juice and began drinking it. Kerman nodded with approval at my drink.

"Alright, Mrs. Ortiz, let's have a look," Kerman said as he began to inspect my lower region. I stared at the ceiling above my head, trying to ignore the fact that a strange man was staring at my vagina. Chibs seemed to be thinking something around the same lines because he turned around, turning his back to the doctor and stared at the wall in front of him. Kerman emerged and stood up. "Well, Mrs. Ortiz, you should begin your breathing techniques and your cervix should be completely dilated in a few more hours."

I groaned loudly as he left. Chibs held my hand again. "You're doin' fantastic, Miss Moody. Now what're your breathin' techniques again?" I began to do them and Chibs did them along with me for quite a while before he became out of breath. Then he stood up to get me some more pillows. Chibs brought me about four more pillows, and he began to arrange them all around me, to make sure that I was completely supported. Then he sat back down and pulled out the deck of cards he had brought from the clubhouse. "Let's see if ya can finally beat me," He said as he began to deal the cards.

Chibs let me win, several times.

I looked at the time. "What do you think Stockton prisoners are doing at twelve in the afternoon?" I asked Chibs.

He shrugged. "They might be doin' their prison jobs, Moody. Somebody's got to clean that place. Don' worry, hon; when I talked to Piney this morning, he said that he'll visit Juice for you and let him know about you bein' in labor."

We played cards a little bit more before Chibs's phone began to ring. Instead taking a few minutes to himself, Chibs put the phone on speaker and continued to deal out more cards. "'Ello?"

"An inmate from Stockton federal prison is attempting to contact you. To accept this call, please press one."

I pretty much stabbed the phone's button with my finger when I heard this. Chibs raised an eyebrow at me. "Chibs? You there?" It was Tig. I groaned out of frustration and collapsed back into my bed. "What's going on over there? Are you watching porn?"

Chibs and I exchanged looks. It looked like Piney hadn't stopped by yet. "I'm at the hospital with Moody. She's been _in labor _since three-thirty this mornin'! And we've been at this hospital since five."

"She's _what_?" Tig asked shrilly. "Jesus, what have you guys been doing since five? It's like one now!"

"We took about three tours of the entire hospital," Chibs said. "I take it as Piney hasn't dropped by to talk to Juicy yet." A contraction hit me again and I reached and gripped Chibs's hand as hard as I could.

"No, Juice is sitting with the others right now. I'll tell him right after I hang up."

I snatched the phone from where it was sitting, releasing Chibs from my grasp. He looked relieved. "And why can't you just put him on the phone now?" I asked, feeling very pissed off and frustrated.

"Because there's a line of people behind me waiting to make their own calls." Tig said, making it sound like a question. Before he could say anything else, I hung up on Tig. Chibs laughed out loud.

"Whatever lets Juice know the fastest," I muttered. Chibs grabbed my hand and held on as I got another contraction. I glanced up at him when it passed; Chibs had been by my side for nine hours straight, except for when I had gone to the bathroom. "Chibs, go get yourself a coffee. I'll be fine here on my own for a while."

Chibs looked like he wanted to object but released his hand from my grip and pushed him a bit from his seat. "Go on. Bring me back some more pineapple juice." Chibs nodded at me, still hesitant to leave. I sighed deeply after he was gone. I was finally alone for the first time since five this morning.

I was only alone for fifteen minutes when Chibs's phone rang. I answered it, needing a new distraction. "Hello?" I said.

"An inmate from Stockton federal prison is attempting to contact you. To accept this call, please press one."

I pressed one as fast as it would allow me to and I waited impatiently for someone's voice to greet me on the other side. "Chibs? Moody?" That was Juice.

"It's Moody," I said, tears forming in my eyes at the sound of his voice. "How're you doing?"

"You're the one in labor and _you're _the one asking about me?" Juice asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "How long has it been? How much longer do you have? Tig told us right after he left the phones and the line today was killer."

"It's been eleven hours so far," I said, answering his questions one at a time. "I'm not sure how much longer I have." I paused as a contraction hit me hard. A few tears fell from my eyes. "These damn contractions are telling me that it's soon though. And they're kicking my ass."

"I want to be there," Juice said miserably. "I should be there. I'm so sorry, Moody."

"Stop blaming yourself!" I exclaimed. "We didn't mean for this to happen right now, but it did. And it's gonna give us a little girl." I added with a smile as another contraction hit me.

There was a pause and then I heard Juice say "Dammit!" He cleared his throat. "Listen, Moody, yard time's over. I gotta go back to my cell." He cut himself off, as if saying the words were painful. When he came back onto the phone, his voice sounded strained. "I love you. And I love that little girl who's coming home in a few hours. I'll call you as soon as I can. I love you!" His line was cut off, as if someone else-a guard, maybe-had hung up for him. I put Chibs's phone down and wiped my face off with my hands.

Chibs returned with my pineapple juice and his coffee a few minutes after that. He could probably tell by the look on my face that I had cried, but he didn't bring it up. Instead, he put on the T.V and we watched some sitcom while Chibs made sure that I was completely comfortable.

Then it was soon time for what Kerman called, the "transition phase". My contractions were pretty much blended together and if they had a break between them, it was only for like thirty seconds. "One contraction at a time," Kerman said to me as the room filled with nurses and they prepped me to push. Chibs stayed at my side and held my hand.

I was now sweating through the hospital gown I had been wearing. Chibs had a trash bin sitting at his feet, in case I needed to puke again. I felt the pain in my lower region, even though the nurses were pumping some drugs into my system. I was still holding onto Chibs's hand tight enough for my knuckles to become white and for his hand to turn bluish. Chibs was breathing with me again, and muttering words of encouragement whenever I had a break from the contractions.

About thirty minutes into this phase, I got the overwhelming urge to push. I alerted Kerman and he rushed to me, followed by the nurses and they were now all completely ready for the delivery.

"You're doin' great, hon," Chibs murmured into my ear. I could barely hear him as a strong pressure took place down there. Chibs avoided his gaze from the mess down there and instead kept his eyes locked onto me.

Kerman held up his hand. "You're crowning, Suzanne, do not push!"

"I'll try not to," I growled. Chibs was still muttered stuff to me and he kissed my temple. Kerman had me adjust myself into a different position so that gravity could help out. I got the urge to push again, and this time Kerman gave me the okay. It took several tries, but after what felt like forever, I gasped out of relief as my daughter slipped out.

There was a terrifying moment of silence but it was finished when a high-pitched cry filled the hospital room. I let out a short laugh the second I heard it and I opened my closed eyes to see Kerman bringing my daughter to me.

Ivy Alaina Ortiz. I allowed tears of happiness to fall from my face as I held her for the first time. The second I laid my eyes on her, I felt the white-hot feeling of a mother's love consume me. My daughter was dark skinned, just a little bit darker than Juice. Ivy had my nose and the shape of her little ears were the same shape Juice had. Thick, little curls of black hair covered her head. I was finding little pieces of myself and Juice inside this little girl.


	51. 51: Afterbirth

Once she was all cleaned up, Ivy was returned to me all wrapped in pink. Chibs had finally left to go to the bathroom and talk to our friends and family, who had been waiting in the waiting room for most of the day. This gave me time to learn how to breastfeed, a nurse came in and instructed me how to do it. We had tried to give Ivy formula, but she had been allergic to it.

Now that she was all cleaned off, I could get a long and proper look at her. Ivy's skin was slightly darker than Juice's, she had his ears and the shape of his mouth, so I could tell that when she smiled, she'd probably have the same smile he had, the one that seemed too big for his face. I could also find traces of myself in her. Ivy had my nose and the same shape of my eyes and my cheekbones. She was the perfect blend of both Juice and myself.

Juice had picked out her name, narrowing the names on his list down until there was one left that we both agreed on. And then we went ahead and gave her my middle name as her own. I tore my eyes from Ivy to glance at Chibs's phone where he left it for me. I hoped that Juice would call me soon; I had to tell him all about our daughter.

There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Chibs waiting at the door. He stepped in completely. "Ever'one else is downstairs waitin' for the okay to come up here." I moved my head in a gesture that invited him farther into the room. Chibs obeyed, staring at little Ivy.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked him. Chibs met my eyes for a second before nodding with a broad smile on his face. He got closer and I passed Ivy to him as carefully as I could. Chibs sat down in his seat and he held Ivy as if she was something completely precious, which she was without a doubt.

I watched Chibs hold my daughter for the first time, an expression coming over his face that I had only really seen whenever he talked about Fiona or Kerrianne. Or me. Chibs was now muttering something in Irish to Ivy; it sounded like some kind of another Irish blessing.

I remembered once being afraid of this man. Now he was the one who had so far helped me in every sense of the word. He was the one to baby me when I needed it and the one to tell me to suck it up and get tough when there was no other option. And here he was, a stand-in dad for me, and now a stand-in grandfather for Ivy. I offered the position of Ivy's grandfather to him right then and there. Chibs looked honored and accepted, smiling down at his adopted granddaughter.

The rest of our family and friends came up a little while after that. Gemma cried for me and hugged me tightly, telling me that I did a great job. Tara, still round with her son, stared at Ivy with adoration of her face. Everyone wanted to hold her. Opie commented on Ivy's tiny pink socks that she was wearing. Abel was perched on Gemma's hip and he said the word "baby" the second he saw Ivy.

Everyone had gotten to hold Ivy at least once when Chibs's phone rang again. Chibs instantly pushed everyone from the room and I was left alone with my daughter to answer the phone. The voice message about a prisoner trying to call me played and I instantly pressed one.

"Are you still in labor?" Juice asked the second I picked up the phone. "If so, just hang up and I'll get back in the phone line in ten minutes."

"No, I'm not in labor anymore," I said, looking down at my daughter. Ivy was awake now and her eyes were the exact same brown as Juice's. The shape of my eyes and the color of his, I thought to myself. "I can't wait for you to meet her, Juice. She's beautiful."

"Then she must be the spitting image of you," Juice said. I laughed and that caused him to laugh as well. I described her to him, Ivy's eyes looking around the room. Juice didn't say anything until I was finished.

"She does sound beautiful. I'll have to start keeping boys away sooner than expected." He laughed at his own joke and he paused for a moment. "Did you say that she was darker than me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just a little bit. Why?"

"No reason," Juice said. "Just trying to get a better mental picture." We talked for another ten minutes, the maximum amount of time a prisoner could spend on the phone. Once we hung up on each other, I put Chibs's phone back down and looked down at Ivy. She closed her eyes and yawned, making me realize just how exhausted I was. A nurse came in a few minutes later and took Ivy to the nursery so that I could sleep.

* * *

I left the hospital a few days later, Chibs driving me home. When I stepped into my house, I found several members of my SAMCRO family already there waiting for me. Gemma hugged me tightly and took Ivy from my arms. "You didn't think that she wouldn't get a welcome home party, did you?" She asked as she carried Ivy over to some crow-eaters.

Valeria and Shelly and a few other of my restaurant employees were there. Shelly cried again when she saw me and she absolutely adored Ivy the moment she laid eyes on her. "She's got your head, sweetie." Shelly told me. Russ and Valerie agreed, holding hands and talking quietly to one another. It's about time, I thought.

Meanwhile Shelly was attempting to talk to Chibs, but kept getting nervous and she'd back out of it. When Chibs and I were in the kitchen, he asked me why Shelly found him so appealing. I narrowed my eyes, pretending to think hard about it. "I think it's the accent. Chicks love accents." Chibs rolled his eyes at me.

Throughout my first month of motherhood, I was never really alone. Gemma had tons of advice and would stay for hours telling me everything. And Half-Sack never seemed to want to leave my house. He had taken it upon himself to try and become my daughter's favorite person. Sack would come over and play with Ivy, he learned how to feed her, the only thing he didn't want to do was change her diapers, which I wasn't thrilled about either.

Tara went into labor a little over a month after Ivy was born. Gemma was by her side the whole time, just like Chibs had been for me. I had waited until Tara went into the "transition phase" before driving to the hospital as carefully as I could with Ivy in the backseat. I met Thomas Teller a few hours later.

Kozik decided to joke about the fact that Ivy and Thomas would be growing up together. "I'm telling you now," He told both me and Tara after Thomas came home. "That your kids are either gonna be best friends, they're gonna hate each other, or they're gonna end up getting together."

"He's a few days old, Kozik!" Gemma said from her seat at Tara's kitchen table. She was holding Thomas and Chibs was sitting with her, holding onto Ivy. "At least give the kid a few months before you start making wedding plans." I laughed along with the rest of them. The subject of Thomas and Ivy becoming a couple would soon be a common conversation between me and Tara, but I knew that she really wanted her boys to at least find some kind of life outside of the club.

I wrote countless letters to Juice and received many calls from him. But I got a phone call a few days after I sent him a letter asking if he wanted to meet Ivy.

"I know she's just a baby and that she won't remember any of this a couple years from now," Juice said. "But I don't want Ivy to ever see me like this, behind bars."

"I understand that," I said. "In that case, you get to meet in when she's seven months old." The thought struck sadness into my heart but I pushed it aside. I had received a call from Rosen, the club lawyer, and he said that, with the good behavior that the club had been showing, that should get out in late November.


	52. 52: Come November

As the days leading up to the club's release, I was getting more and more impatient. I was tired of living without Juice. I missed the smell of him, the touch of him. And I wanted him to meet Ivy; a child could only go without their father for so long.

Ivy's hair had grown out 'till it went to her chin. It was dark black and Gemma had helped me keep it in order by pulling it into pigtails. One day Gemma was over at my house with just a week left until the men came back home.

"Juice must have some dark Hispanics on his side." Gemma said, tying up Ivy's hair into the second pigtail. Ivy looked up at Gemma and made one of the baby noises I had grown very fond of. I frowned and shrugged.

"He must. I hate to say that I don't know much his family." That sounded really terrible when I said it out loud. "I did get a few letters from his grandmother though. She said that she was happy he found someone but also upset that he couldn't stay outside of prison. She didn't use those exact words though: she's a vulgar woman, that Rosemary Ortiz."

Gemma snorted. "Well, I remember listening to Juice when he first patched in. Apparently that Rosemary is the one who raised him."

"He told me that." I said, grabbing a bottle of milk from the fridge before beginning to warm it under hot water. "And she did a hell of a job."

"I thought Ivy was allergic to formula," Gemma said, frowning at the bottle.

"She is. This is pumped." I explained, giving the bottle to Gemma.

Gemma began to feed Ivy. She looked up and eyed my calendar hanging on the wall, where I had been crossing off days to when Juice would be home. She smiled slightly and looked back to me. "I've got the same countdown on mine. How's business going at Moody's?"

I sighed. "A lot more people are coming around since majority of SAMCRO aren't around. But I think that it might go down again when they come home."

"The people in this town," Gemma snorted. "When you first got here, everyone loved the Sons. They kept Charming protected from gang violence and drugs. But since Zobelle brought in some of those drugs, things have gone downhill for all of us. The shop's gotten less business too. Especially since the whole town knows that the Sons are coming back out this week."

"This town knows everything," I said with a drink of my water. I put it down and frowned. "Damn, I miss beer."

Gemma laughed. "Don't worry, hon. When Juice gets home, he can play the devoted parent."

"Oh please, I plan on getting extremely drunk as soon as heavenly possible." I said. Gemma laughed again and Ivy finished her bottle. "Thanks again for watching Ivy while I work today." I said, standing up to put my glass away. Gemma said that it was no problem and I left to go to Moody's.

The work day was going pretty good, I noticed right when I arrived that Valerie and Russ kept looking over at each other and I smiled to myself. I went out into the dining area and stood by Shelly at the bar, where a stranger was sitting and sipping a coffee. He looked up when he saw me and to be polite I nodded and smiled at him. He held my gaze for a full three seconds before giving me a slight smile right back.

Shelly noticed as she was cleaning and handed me a dirty glass to clean. The stranger was still watching me carefully. I began to start feeling uncomfortable. Shelly began to feel uncomfortable just by association.

"Who's the new guy and why is he staring at me?" I asked Shelly through the side of my mouth.

Shelly shrugged. "No clue, he rode up on a motorcycle. I thought you'd know him."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "So anyone on a bike is instantly a SAMCRO member?" I asked. Shelly shrugged. I glanced over at the stranger again; he had stopped staring at me and he was concentrating on eating his breakfast. "Well, whoever he is, he's not staring at me anymore." While he was eating, I looked at him carefully. He had a long face with longish brown hair and a beard. He looked harmless. But then again, Polly Zobelle had looked harmless at first too.

The man finished his breakfast about forty minutes later, taking his time. By the time his forty minutes were up, I had gone back into the kitchen and cooked for a while before going back out into the dining area to help Shelly some more. This time when I came out, Shelly was making small talk with the strange man from the bar.

He looked up at me and smiled in a kind way. I gave him another smile and Shelly began to introduce us. "Oh, Suzy you're out here! Suzy, this is Lincoln Potter, he just moved to town."

Potter smiled kindly at me and made eye contact. "And so far, this restaurant is my favorite place." I held his eye contact for a second before looking away. This dude's intense gaze was starting to get uncomfortable again. He held out his hand for me to shake, which I did, but Potter held it too tight and too long. I broke it off and Shelly exchanged a glance with me that told me that she was thinking the exact same thing I was.

This guy was creepy.

"I'll see you around, Suzy Moody," Potter said before leaving. I watched him leave and glanced at Shelly.

"You didn't mention my last name?" I asked. "My legally married last name?"

"It didn't come up," Shelly said. She glanced down to my left hand, still ring less due to the fact that Juice didn't want to give me a ring while he was in prison. I looked down at it as well and thought of Potter's odd staring.

"Juice better have a plan," I mumbled.

* * *

The day that the club came home, everyone went straight to the clubhouse. I stood by the picnic table with Tara holding Thomas. Piney was holding Ivy, playing peek-a-boo with her by using one hand. Gemma walked up behind us, leaving Abel coloring in his coloring book. She placed either hand on our backs and looked at both of us.

"I'm proud of both of you," She said. "It's not easy making it work while they're inside. You two held it together." I smiled at her and Tara as the sound of motorcycles filled the air. "Daddy's home," Gemma said to the two of us. I went back to Piney and took Ivy from him. And for the first time in fourteen months, Clay led the club into the auto shop lot.

The crowd of crow-eaters applauded and several of the mechanics had shown up for the special occasion. The motorcycles parked themselves in the middle of the lot, not bothering to go to their normal spots. Ivy let out a yell from my arms and I sat her up in my arms a bit. I scanned the group of bikers as they got off of their bikes, and my eyes locked with Juice's the moment he had both of his feet on the ground.

I began to hurry towards him and he met me halfway. I bent my head backwards as Juice kissed me hard for the first time in fourteen months. He ran his hands through my hair, we were no longer separated by that damn glass window. We separated from each other and Juice stared into my eyes.

"I've missed you so damn much," Juice said softly.

"Language," I said teasingly, adjusting my position with Ivy. Juice looked down to her for the first time, fully taking her in. He sucked in his breath through his teeth and he instantly began to take her from my arms. I let him hold her and Juice's face melted as he held his baby girl for the first time.

Juice's eyes began to glaze over and I rubbed his shoulder. "She's beautiful." He said as Ivy stared back at him. Juice looked back down to me and wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer. "My girls," He said to himself, kissing me again.

"Chapel in ten!" Clay shouted. Juice looked up in Clay's direction and raised an eyebrow at him. I looked up at Juice, still trying to get used to the fact that he was back home. Juice looked down and saw me staring.

"Is it the hair?" He asked, laughing. "I thought you'd like it if it was longer. It gives you an excuse to maul it later."

"Oh, I would've mauled it even if you were bald again." I informed him. Juice raised his eyebrows at me and gave me that smile of his that made me want to melt. We walked inside the clubhouse and Juice sat down at the bar, just holding Ivy. Chibs walked past us, and he paused long enough to kiss Ivy on top of the head and say something to Juice. Several of the other long-gone club members stopped by me briefly to say hello and to greet Ivy for the first time.

Tig rushed over to me and hugged me extremely tight. Juice muttered something in Ivy's ear and laughed at whatever he said. Tig kissed my cheek and held me out at arm's length. "You look amazing, Moody. Motherhood looks good on you." I laughed and Tig looked over the top of my head to where Juice was holding Ivy. "Oh my God, Moody, that kid is adorable. You did a hell of a job."

"I helped out too, you know?" Juice told Tig. Tig rolled his eyes at Juice.

"Did you push that kid out of your lower end?" Tig asked. "No you did not. Moody gets credit." Juice and Tig locked eyes for a second before they both burst out laughing. Tig went over to where Juice was holding Ivy and he kissed the top of my daughter's head. Kozik pushed a beer at me and I drank some, finding myself relaxing for the first time in what felt like ages.


	53. 53: The Winstons

For the last few months, Lyla had been stressing out for quite a while. Her wedding with Opie was fast approaching and now that the club was finally home, it was time for it to happen. She had long chosen Tara and myself as her bridesmaids and Opie had already chosen Jax as the best man. For the month before they all came home, I had been at Lyla's side for most of it, either calming her down from a bride-freak-out or trying to help her find the right shoes for her dress.

As the evening grew closer, Lyla demanded that I help her get ready for the wedding. So I left Ivy with Becca, who had been acting as Ivy's babysitter, and arrived at Opie and Lyla's house right after Lyla got out of the shower. Piper, Kenny, and Ellie were all at school. Tara would be showing up soon.

"Have you seen the reservation yet?" Lyla asked me as she started to blow dry her hair.

"Not yet," I said. "Between Ivy, and work, and Juice coming home, I've been busy."

Lyla sighed, looking nervous. "That's fine, Moody." The tone of her voice said that it wasn't fine. "We can check it out when we get there." She cut herself off and she looked like she was going to start crying. I hurried forward and grabbed her a tissue, assuring her that I'd send someone to check it out before we went. After assuring this to Lyla, I called Kristy and Naomi and told them to check the part of the reservation where the ceremony would take place.

Tara finally arrived. And she helped me with Lyla's hair and makeup. Lyla looked at me in the mirror. "Did you ever want a wedding like this, Moody? A big one like this?"

I thought about it for a second before shaking my head. "I don't think so. Big weddings were never really my thing. Besides, I'm happy with what I got with Juice." I smiled, and Lyla and Tara smiled along with me.

A few hours later, we were at the reservation and Lyla was all dressed up, wearing her sky-high heels and tight dress. Those heels made her tower over me completely, despite the fact that I too was wearing heels. "You're just short," Piney said as he got ready to walk Lyla down the aisle.

"That or everyone in the club are freakishly tall," I suggested.

"How tall are you?" Piney asked. I looked up at him; usually I barely reached his chest, now I finally reached his shoulder.

"I'm five-one," I replied. Piney snorted. Tara nudged me and we walked down the aisle first, beginning the ceremony. We walked to the alter from behind it, and when we took our place at the alter, Jax wolf-whistled at Tara. Tara turned bright red and the crowd, some of them already drunk, laughed loudly. I made the mistake of making eye contact with Juice and he then made it his personal mission to try and make me laugh by winking or sticking his tongue out at me. I struggled not to smile as my face turned red. But then Chibs and Tig began helping Juice out and it made it ten times worse.

Finally, Lyla and Piney walked to the alter and several of the club members began to yell out to Opie, congratulating him on landing Lyla. Lyla met Opie at the alter, smiling broadly and her bright blue eyes looking only at him. Tara and I exchanged a look and we looked back at our two friends, both of us extremely happy for them.

"We're gathered here today for the joining of Opie and Lyla," The pastor from the reservation began. "And what better place to host such an occasion that in nature? Do you Opie, take Lyla to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Opie said yes. "And do you Lyla take Opie to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Lyla agreed without hesitation. "You may exchange the rings."

I handed Lyla Opie's ring and took it before turning around to Opie. She held his left hand and began to slip the ring around his finger. "With this ring," She said. "I promise to be a faithful wife. And I promise to love you, and cherish you until the end of my days."

Opie smiled broadly at Lyla and looked back to Jax, asking for her ring. "The what?" Jax asked, staring at Opie with a smile. We all chuckled as Jax handed over the ring before winking at Tara. Opie slipped the ring onto Lyla's left hand. He began his vows. "With this ring, I promise to always protect you and I will always love you."

"And?" Jax muttered. Opie rolled his eyes.

"And I promise to treat you as good as my leather," Opie said, adding a pause to the end of that phrase. Every single man there for the ceremony said the final saying along with Opie.

"And ride you as much as my Harley!"

Tara and I laughed along with everyone else as the pastor announced that Opie and Lyla were officially married. They locked lips and I applauded with the rest of the motorcycle family and the several amount of friends that were present. I saw Mayans, Niners, Russians, some mechanics from the auto shop, crow-eaters from each group, and a handful of porn stars from Cara Cara. I had noticed earlier on that Bianca and Ima were nowhere to be found.

The ceremony finished and the party began. Opie went over to the club to talk to some of the Russian friends who had come. I danced with Tara and Lyla as a fast-paced song came on over the small stage that had been constructed earlier as a make-shift dance floor. Lyla was dancing with her porn star friends who came by and Gemma came over to dance with Tara and me. The dance floor was mostly filled with the women while the guys spoke business to one another. That is, until they finished and many of the men came over to their old ladies or favorite crow-eaters to dance with them.

"I'm stealing her!" Juice said to Gemma and Tara as he wrapped an arm around me before pulling me away from them. He grabbed my hands and we began dancing together in a way that made all the people around us clear us some space. I caught sight of Jax and Tara dancing together, Clay and Gemma, and Opie and Lyla. Tig had skipped the dancing part and was sitting down in a chair with a crow-eater on each knee. Chibs was talking to a dark-skinned crow-eater who had hair just like Fiona's.

The fast-paced song slowed down into a slow song and, surprisingly, the members who came up to dance with their loved ones stayed up, slowing down the pace 'till we were all suddenly shuffling around with one another. As Juice pulled me into his chest, I saw that he and Clay exchanged a glance that I somehow understood immediately.

"You guys have stuff to do?" I asked softly as he rested his chin on my head.

"Yeah, shouldn't take too long though. I should be back by the time the party's over," Juice said. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you that my grandma sent me something while I was inside."

"Your grandma kept sending me letters while you were inside." I said. "She says that she wants to meet me and Ivy, but something about her health is keeping her back." Juice nodded.

"One of her lungs collapsed when I was sixteen. She has to stay hooked up to something now." He said briefly before he began to pull me away from the dance floor. I allowed him to lead me away until we were out of sight of the others. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic baggie. I stared at it and felt the hair on my arms go straight up when I saw him pull out two rings from the baggie. "Rosemary sent me these about a month before I got out. She said that they were her's and my grandpa's."

"Oh my God," I breathed as Juice grabbed my left hand and slipped the ring around my finger. I stared at it, unused to the weight of it but thrilled to have it at the same time. "Rosemary has good taste." I noted with a laugh. I took the other ring from him and put it on his finger.

"And now we can happily act like a normal couple," Juice said, smiling down at me.

I laughed. "Oh yeah, normal," Juice gave me a fake glare and let out a sarcastic "ha". He bent his head down to kiss me and I relished in the taste of him. We separated after a long moment and I met his eyes. "I love you so damn much." I said softly, holding the side of his face with my hand. Juice smiled and he began to play with some of my hair, which had been curled for the wedding.

"I love you more," Juice muttered. He kissed my forehead and pressed his own forehead against mine. We heard Jax in the distance, looking for Juice. Juice opened his closed eyes and glared out in the direction of Jax's voice. He groaned. "Not now,"

"Hey," I said. Juice looked back down to me and he met my gaze. "Do whatever it is you need to do. I'll be home waiting for you when you come back."

Juice smiled at me. "Don't count on sleeping." He muttered. I laughed and he laughed too.

"You just turned it weird," I said.

"Nonsense, we're married. We can talk dirty if we want." Juice said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes at him and gave him one last kiss before sending him after his fellow club members. A few minutes later, I went back to the party, smiling like an idiot.


	54. 54: Lifeboats

Juice hadn't been kidding when he told me not to sleep the night of Opie and Lyla's wedding. By the time he came home from doing club business, Ivy was sound asleep, Becca the babysitter was gone, and I was working to get myself out of my bridesmaid dress. Juice had swept in and helped me out of it alright.

Two days later I was planning on going to the clubhouse around two. Tara had gotten Ivy a place at the daycare in the hospital, where'd she would hang out until I could pick her up at five. Though for the three days that Juice had been home, if he wasn't with the club or me, he was with Ivy. He told me that he was trying to make up for lost time and that he had seven months to make up for.

Every now and then I would hear Juice randomly say her name. I had woken up from the baby monitor, but Juice had gotten to Ivy's room first. And I could hear him mutter to her while he fed her at one o'clock in the morning.

"Hey, Suzy," Becca said, glancing out the front window and frowning. "Are you friends with him?" I came out from behind the bar and walked over to Becca. I followed her gaze just as Potter drove his motorcycle away. I shook my head at Becca, giving her the answer. "Should we call the cops or something? 'Cause that's like the fourth time I've seen him in the past two days."

"The cops won't do shit," I said. "Not unless I had either proof or he made a threat. Even then, who knows if that new cop will help me. I think he's pissed that I'm involved with SAMCRO."

"And by 'involved' do you mean adopted by it, married to it, and raising a tiny part of it?" Becca asked. I narrowed my eyes at her and she shrugged. "I'm babysitting your kid. Don't expect me not to get involved." I laughed a bit.

"Let me know if you see Potter out there again." I told her. "I'll set my convict husband on him." Becca laughed and went back to serving coffee. I felt my smile fall from my face as I looked back outside the window with worry. This Potter had been hanging out a lot more often, whether he was inside eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes he came in for all three mealtimes. And each time, he asked how my day was going and I had taken to hiding in the kitchen to work, because this guy was making me feel so uncomfortable. I had shown off my left hand, trying to subtly let the guy know that I was married, but that did absolutely nothing.

I left for the clubhouse and was sitting at the bar when I heard fire engines outside. Juice, Chibs, and Tig, who had all been hanging out with me, frowned at each other before heading outside. I followed, not sure why a fire engine would show up here, unless there was a fire here that no one knew about. Juice saw me following and paused so that I could catch up. We joined Tig and Chibs outside to see Lieutenant Roosevelt talking to Clay. Tig swore under his breath and stormed over to where Clay and Roosevelt were standing. Chibs hurried after him. Juice and I exchanged looks as Roosevelt left Clay and the others before storming into the clubhouse with one burning look at me and Juice.

Clay and Tig led the way after him, following him into the clubhouse. Chibs and Sack hurried after them and Juice and I led the few fire fighters that had shown up and a handful of crow-eaters. Roosevelt was pacing around the clubhouse, staring at everything in what seemed like disgust. As far as I could tell, he was saying that he was doing a fire safety inspection. We all gathered around Roosevelt, who was staring at the mug-shot wall with great interest.

Roosevelt turned back to Clay. "You've got no brothers on your wall. What's up with that?" I frowned at him; was he being serious?

"What's up with that is that we've got no brothers on our wall," Piney said, grumbling from his spot by the pool table.

"We don't have a problem with color," Clay told Roosevelt.

"As long as it stays out of Charming?" Roosevelt suggested.

Clay rolled his eyes. "Just do what you gotta do." I glanced up at Juice and Tig in turn; I was standing between them. Tig looked pissed at Roosevelt, but Juice's face had gone blank. Roosevelt began to slowly pace over to the wall. He pressed his hand up against the wall and looked back at Clay and the rest of us.

"This feels warm right here. It might be electrical." Roosevelt said, gesturing to a nearby fire fighter for the fire ax he had been holding. The club members around me stiffened and took a few steps forward. Roosevelt threw Clay one last look of contempt before throwing all of his weight into the ax, swinging it right at the mug-shot wall.

Several of the pictures shattered and fell to the ground. Roosevelt kept swinging at them while the club members yelled out in fury. I heard Chibs shout, "Ya little shit!" He had begun to move towards Roosevelt but I hurried and grabbed his arm, stopping him from doing anything he'd regret. Chibs gave me a frustrated glare as Roosevelt smashed the glass window for the chapel and broke into the doors. He swung the fire ax over his head and brought it down on the beautifully carved table.

A few minutes later, Roosevelt's rampage was over and he gathered the club members around to discuss the fire hazards in the clubhouse. I got out of the group at this point, knowing that I'd be kicked out by Clay anyway. I sat at what was really left of the bar and Kristy brought me a coffee from the coffee joint down the street, for which I was extremely grateful. After their meeting was finished, the men jumped onto their bikes to go do "club business" as I had come to call it.

They came home about two hours later, and I had been filled in by Gemma that Jax and Opie had been taken hostage by some guys who the club had stopped doing business with. Tara and Lyla showed up and were both very distraught, and I struggled to keep their minds off of their loved ones. Phil and Miles, now fully patched in members, took it as their full responsibility to keep everyone calm, even though the inside of the clubhouse was completely destroyed.

Clay led the parade of motorcycles back into the lot and everyone rushed out to see them. Tara ran to Jax, looking like she was on the brink of tears. Lyla rushed for Opie and Clay and Gemma kissed before hugging each other tightly. Juice got off his bike and sped-walked to me, wrapping his arms around me the second he got the chance.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Juice nodded, but he still looked distracted, just like how he had been when Roosevelt showed up. We all walked inside the clubhouse slowly, as if it was now a minefield and the wrong move could kill any one of us. Jax kicked a spare piece of furniture. Clay said they would get a crew in to clean it up later. I picked up a bar stool from the floor and sat it up straight. Chibs saw what I was doing and began to do the same.

"I have some good news," Tara called out. Chibs and I stopped what we were doing to look up at her. Everyone stared at Tara, curious as to what this "good news" was. Tara reached into her pocket and, to my surprise, put a ring on her left hand. She held up her hand for everyone to see. "We're engaged!"

There was a moment of silence followed immediately by everyone clapping and whistling. Clay yelled out, "Drinks all around!" And the two new prospects began to bring out beer for everyone. Juice grabbed two and handed one to me, clinking his bottle against mine. I took a swig of my beer and went over to hug Tara and tell her congratulations. Someone started up the stereo and music began to play as everyone mingled around the wreckage of the clubhouse.

The beautiful thing about the club was that when something bad happened, when something went wrong, it was as if the Titanic was going down. But if there was a shred of good news, they were the people you'd want in your lifeboat with you.


	55. 55: Yours and Mine

I found out about a day after Juice came home that he had been writing letters while in prison to buy a percentage of a weed shop a street over from Moody's. He said he now owned twenty percent and that it would help pay for baby stuff and things such as that. I hadn't known what to say but Juice confirmed the money he was making with the weed shop by slapping his cut down on the table in front of me.

"And now I give you full support," I said, counting the money with what must've looked like a dumb expression on my face. Juice had laughed and helped me count out the nine hundred dollars, and he said that that amount was just the first fraction of the cut.

A few days, just about a week after the club came home, I got a call from Chibs while I was working. "Ya might want to go down to the police station, Moody. Some of the new cops picked up Juice on a false charge."

"A false charge of what?" I asked sharply, going into the privacy of my office.

"The cop took him after they found weed on 'im," Chibs explained. "Juice showed them the card, but they took 'im anyway." I sighed and shook my head as I grabbed my purple hoodie from my desk chair.

"I'm on my way now," I said.

"I'll head that way after I finish somethin' at the new warehouse. Gotta make sure that the prospects aren't screwin' anything up." Chibs said. I thanked Chibs for the information and put Valerie in charge of the restaurant before getting into my car and driving to the police station.

The police station was filled with the cops, all in black uniforms. I couldn't help but wonder where Hale was-his own brother had demoted him when he rose to power, and then Mayor Hale had set Roosevelt in charge. I hadn't seen Hale for a few months; maybe he had skipped town for a while...

"Can I help you?" A tall and black police officer asked me. I read his nametag. Cane. He was giving me a raised eyebrow.

"Um, yeah," I said. "I'm here because my husband was picked up and brought here on a bogus charge." My voice got firmer as I continued. "Where is he?" Cane stared at me for a solid minute before putting the puzzle pieces together.

"Wait, _you're _married to Juan Carlos Ortiz?" He asked in a disbelieving voice. I rolled my eyes and held up my left hand.

"Yes, my name is Suzanne Ortiz, my husband is Juan Carlos Ortiz, we have a daughter named Ivy Ortiz. Are you getting the picture now? Because you still have that stupid expression on your face that looks like you're expecting me to say April's fools, despite the fact that it's December now." I said. Cane's jaw tightened and his face turned from disbelieving to angry in five seconds flat. A blond policewoman, who had been listening to the entire exchange widened her eyes at me and left to go into the hallway, my guess to alert Roosevelt that I was there.

Cane huffed a breath heavily. "We can't legally release him at the moment, not until we get the offense filed and-"

"It's a fake offense!" I interrupted him. "The man's got a card for any weed on him. He owns part of a weed shop for Christ's sake."

He looked like he was going to argue with me some more, but Roosevelt and Juice walked out of the office and interrupted anything Cane was going to say. Roosevelt gave me a smile that made me want to punch him. "No worries, Mrs. Ortiz. I just needed to talk to Juan Carlos about the importance of family." He gave Juice a pointed look to which Juice glared at him.

"So you charged him for a chat?" I asked Roosevelt. Juice glanced down at me and threw his arm around my shoulders.

"C'mon, Moody. Let's head home." Juice said, giving Roosevelt and Cane one last look of contempt. Before I could say anything else, Juice turned me around and we walked from the police station, Juice keeping his arm tight around my shoulders. "I'll tell you everything when we get home." Juice as he started for the driver's side of the Buick. I raised an eyebrow at him as I realized that Roosevelt was watching us from the front door of the station.

The second our front door was closed, I turned to Juice and spread my arms in questioning. "So what's the real reason you were picked up by the cops?"

"They picked up telling me it was because of the weed." Juice started. "But then Roosevelt took me to his office and he said that he just wanted to talk." He paused, clearly racking his brains for a way to explain everything to me. My frustration melted away as I watched his face go from clearly angry to agitated to extremely nervous.

"What did he say, Juice?" I asked in a quiet voice.

Juice breathed deeply. "I never told you everything about my family. I told you about my mother's side, and her side only. You don't know anything about my father or his side of the family, and I thought I could keep that from you for a little while longer, but I don't think I can anymore."

I stared at him. "Juice?" He put his hand on my mouth, keeping me from talking anymore.

"Please don't say anything else until I'm finished, okay?" He asked. I nodded in agreement and Juice let me go. He sighed again and rubbed his Mohawk, his nervous tick. "My dad is black. African American. You were there when Roosevelt pointed out the fact that SAMCRO doesn't have any black members. And it doesn't matter what Clay says, the club doesn't let black men into the club."

I didn't speak, due to the fact that Juice looked like he'd slap his hand over my mouth again if I said anything. Juice continued. "If the club ever finds out about my dad, they'd take my patch, cut out my ink, kick me out of Charming forever. It would be as if I never existed to them." He rubbed his face, almost violently, and looked back at me. "You can talk now."

Shaking my head, I sat down on the couch. "What does Roosevelt plan on doing with that information? Is he going to tell Clay or Jax or anyone?"

"He didn't say anything. He just said that he'd keep in touch with me." Juice said, keeping a close eye on me. "Are you pissed or angry at me in any way?"

"I'm angry with Roosevelt for pulling that on you!" I said. "It's not your fault that your dad is black. Surely the club will understand that."

"They would've understood if I hadn't known." Juice said, sitting down next to me. "If I had known absolutely nothing about him, they would've probably given me a slap on the wrist. But I knew, Moody, I _knew _about him and I joined the Sons with the full knowledge that I'm half-black and that the club doesn't allow blacks in. _That's _what is going to get me cut out, possibly killed, if Clay and the others find out." He looked at me again. "So you're not mad at me for hiding this?"

I shook my head. "I can't be mad at you. But now I know why Roosevelt has been very throwing me dirty looks every time he came in for lunch since he moved to Charming." I let out a short laugh and Juice did the same, staring at me.

"I really don't deserve you," He said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Stop saying that," I said. "Whether or not you deserve me, I'm yours, and I'm gonna be around for everything. And we're pretty much one hundred percent honest with one another, so you're good." Juice smiled a bit and rested his head on my shoulder. I reached up my hand and began to play with his earlobe, just like how he does for me. "I love you, Juicy."

"I love you too, Moody." Juice said before kissing my head.


	56. 56: Wherever You Go

Ivy had a habit of tugging on people's hair. Whoever was holding her either had to have short hair and have it far back enough so that she couldn't grab it. This led to me having my hair tied back almost every single time I held her, and it made Juice perfect for the job because of his lack of hair.

"I think she likes my ink," Juice said one day as Ivy tried to grab at the tattoos on his arms. I looked down at both of them, amused at the sight of Ivy trying to pull her daddy's tattoos away from him. He raised Ivy over his head and made some faces at her, causing her to laugh loudly. I laughed and Juice brought Ivy down and he stood up to kiss my head.

Juice had told me about the whole cartel deal and the drug moving. I didn't like it, but then again he didn't expect me to. "I voted against it. But it ended up winning by one." Juice has explained. Which had ended up in a conversation going back to Roosevelt. "He wants me to bring him a sample of the coke. Or he'll tell Clay and the club about my dad."

"Jesus Christ," I had grumbled. And now I was with Juice in the kitchen as he rocked Ivy back and forth by using the balls of his feet, and he was trying to make the decision of whether or not he was going to steal coke from the club. "And you said that he gave you two days to steal?" I asked.

"It's one day now," Juice said quietly, staring at his daughter's face. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" I took a sip from my coffee and breathed heavily through my nose. Juice tore his eyes away from Ivy to look at me. "If I steal and I'm caught, the club will kill me. If I don't do it, then Roosevelt will rat and the club will kill me."

"A rock and a hard place," I said. I took another drink of coffee.

"I'm not doing it," Juice said suddenly.

I nearly spat my coffee out. But I swallowed it roughly instead and it hurt my throat as it went down. "What now?" Juice looked at me with a determined and hard look on his face.

"There's a chance that the club might not kill me if they find out about my dad," Juice said. "But if I'm caught stealing from them, then there's no doubt that Clay would put a bullet in my head without question. I _have _to take the chance that they'll let me live. And I think that they probably would let me live, because of you and Ivy. Chibs wouldn't dream of causing either of you two pain, and neither would Clay or Tig."

I blinked at him. "So the fact that I'm with you might just keep you alive?" Juice nodded reluctantly. I shook my head and looked back to Juice. "Well thank God for me then, right?" I said sarcastically. Juice snorted and Ivy began to cry out for some milk. Juice didn't hesitate before getting her a bottle. I watched him the whole time, the way he moved, the way he would mutter to Ivy to talk to her. Juice was a good father; and if he didn't go through with this he could blink out of existence.

I went to work and Juice went to drop Ivy off at daycare. I worked at the bar with Shelly, and I glared at Roosevelt the second he walked into my restaurant. He had his wife with him and she smiled broadly at me, which I forced to return. Shelly showed them an empty table but I didn't take my eyes off of Roosevelt's back. Shelly noticed and stared at me.

"You don't like our new sheriff?" She asked.

I nodded as Roosevelt turned around in his seat to find me watching him closely. His wife got up from her seat and went to the bathroom. Roosevelt turned in his chair towards me and gestured me over. I obeyed immediately and took the seat across from Roosevelt. We locked eyes for a moment before he spoke.

"I got the call from your boy today." Roosevelt said. "He told me that he's not going through with our deal. I assume that it has something to do with you?"

I shook my head. "Nope, he came to that conclusion all on his own. I had nothing to do with his decision."

Roosevelt was watching me carefully, as if thinking hard about what I said. "Well, I'm sure you realize what that club you're involved with will do to him now." I nodded and he leaned forward. "And you're willing to let him take that chance? Imagine for a second if they decide to kill him. You'd be exiled from the club as well: you won't have a husband, or a club, or that Scottish daddy of yours. They will all go away and you'll be left alone with your kid and this restaurant. Every decision that Juice makes now directly affects you and your daughter; that's marriage."

I stood up and walked away from him, Roosevelt's words terrifying me. The threat of tears burned the back of my eyes and I didn't notice when Potter entered the restaurant, causing us to bump into each other. I quickly apologized and began to get away but Potter grabbed my elbow.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a surprising amount of concern. I nodded, and shook myself from his grip.

"I'm fine." I said briefly before going back behind the bar and into the kitchen and into my office. Shelly followed me the whole way and hugged me tightly right after closing the door. I let out a broken sob and managed to get rid of the feeling that I was about to start crying. Shelly pushed my hair out of my face and asked what was wrong. I didn't tell her anything, using the excuse that I was on my period and that Roosevelt had scared me. Shelly nodded, not looking like she believed me but she left me alone anyway.

About an hour later, I came out from my office. I had spent the entire time either sitting at my desk and trying to do work, or going downstairs to the soundproofed basement to just have more room so that I could pace. The bloodstains from where Pozo had been were still there, telling me that I needed to see if Happy would clean up his mess.

By the time I emerged from my office the Roosevelts were gone. And Potter was just walking out the door and Shelly was waving goodbye to him. She turned to me and smiled at me. "I know we thought he was creepy at first, but he's kinda charming."

"What happened in the hour I was gone?" I asked. Shelly shrugged.

"I started talking to him and he wants to meet me in the park after work." Shelly said, looking excited. I put on an excited face for her, but at the same time I thought about the massive age difference. Shelly was the same age as Gemma, around fifty-something. Potter was in his late thirties at the most. But Shelly still seemed eager when she clocked out that night, and I wished her good luck for whatever would happen.

* * *

Later that night, Juice told me that Roosevelt planned on telling the club about Juice's heritage the next morning. I shuddered at the idea of this time tomorrow Juice could either be dead or patched out of SAMCRO. What Roosevelt had said to me about what would happen to me if I was exiled from SAMCRO rang in my ears. Juice saw my expression and held my face between his hands.

"Hey," He said quietly. "We're gonna be okay. You and me, and Ivy, we're all gonna be okay. If we do have to leave Charming, we could, um, sell my cut of the weed shop, we could sell Moody's and go to New York. I know for a fact that Rosemary would take us in in a heartbeat. And I think she stills owns this house in Staten Island..." He trailed off and I reached up to rub his Mohawk. His dark hair flipped backwards and then back into place as I ran my hand over it.

I kissed him lightly on the lips. "Lead the way, Juice. I'll follow you wherever you go." Juice smiled at me and kissed me again before Ivy started crying for her bottle.

* * *

Shelly didn't show up for work the next morning. I thought of it as odd, considering the woman was never late and had a hell of an immune system. Valerie had shrugged my worries away, "She's probably just sleeping in. You know she had that date or whatever last night." I shrugged and agreed, though something didn't feel right about her absence.

Potter came in later in the day right after lunch. Because Shelly didn't show up, I was working as the hostess for the day. I nodded at Potter and began to show him his usual seat, but he waved me off and stepped a bit closer to me so that he towered over me.

"May I speak to you in your office, Suzy?" He asked. I stopped myself from shuddering when he called me Suzy but took him back to my office anyway, beginning to feel scared. Potter shut the door behind us and I sat down in my hair, half expecting him to sit down as well. But he didn't.

Instead, Potter walked straight to my bookshelf, shifted some books around. And he found the switch that opened to the basement.


	57. 57: Rats

Potter looked back at me with amusement etched into his long face. "An odd place for a light switch, wouldn't you agree?" I didn't answer, just stared at him with my throat feeling like it was closing in on itself. With a decisive move of his finger, Potter flipped the switch and the bookshelf shuddered and slid to the side. Potter stared at it with false amazement and moved it farther to the side, revealing the door for the basement. He turned back to me. "Do you mind accompanying me?"

He made me go down first, and he shut the door behind him. I felt the fear begin to blind me and panic was rising inside my stomach. This basement was soundproofed; he could do anything to me right now and nobody would hear. This man-who had made me feel nervous from the moment I met him-now knew my biggest secret. We reached the bottom of the stairs and Potter looked around with a delightful expression on his face.

"This is cozy," He said cheerfully, staring at me.

"How did you find out?" I asked. Potter heaved a sigh and paced around me, circling me.

"Your hostess told me everything," He said simply. "I told her that I knew that she and you were close and I mentioned SAMCRO and then said that I knew that something fishy was going on with you and them. I told her that something had to be tying you down to them. She told me about Vince Moody, and how he had been best friends with the club. I then told her that I'd use aiding and abetting against her if she didn't tell me why you and your uncle were involved with SAMCRO."

I feel as though someone just put a bullet in me and ordered me not to react. Shelly ratted, she turned in my secret, the secret she knew could get me serious jail time if discovered. I closed my eyes and Potter stopped talking to stare at me. I opened my eyes again and glared at him.

"How would you charge her with aiding?" I asked through my teeth.

"You could say that I'm quite close with Lieutenant Roosevelt. And I think that he'd be very interested to hear about your secret basement here." His eyes wandered to the bloodstains that Happy had left when he had been interrogating Pozo. I felt as though the rug had been pulled from under my feet.

Potter stopped circling me like the vulture he was to stand right behind my back. "Please don't think that because I'm fond of you doesn't mean that I won't have Roosevelt charge you with aiding and abetting. You will go to prison and you will not see your daughter until she's out of high school."

I let out a dry sob and covered my mouth to stop more from coming out. I felt Potter's fingers tug on a lock of my hair. "But I'm also willing to let you walk away from this predicament." He paused. "Get Juan Carlos to steal coke from the club, and I will personally make sure that you don't serve any time for your lack of better judgment."

I turned around to glare at him, my eyes burning with the tears I hadn't allowed to fully fall yet. "You want me to ask my husband to throw his life away?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do," Potter said. "Shelly told me that your _husband _," He sneered out the word. "Is completely wrapped around your finger. If you told him to jump off a cliff, he'd ask you which one. If you tell him to steal a brick of coke to keep you out of prison, he'd ride his bike to wherever it's being kept to take ten bricks."

"I'm not asking Juice to steal that brick," I snapped.

"If you don't," Potter said. "I will not hesitate to turn you into the authorities. You and your family can run wherever you want to, but the warrant for your arrest will follow you everywhere. The wanted criminal with the ex-con. And if they find Juan Carlos helping you allude the authorities, he'll go to prison as well. What will happen to that precious daughter of yours then if the club disowns you both and her parents are both in prison?" He paused. "Your daughter will grow up in the system, thinking that her parents didn't care about her enough to not commit crimes. She'll think that she was disowned, you'll be disowned from your club. Then again, you should be used to disownment by now, shouldn't you?"

I slapped him as hard as I could across his face. Potter rubbed the red spot on his face that perfectly reflected the outline of my hand. He looked at me with something that looked like amusement and admiration. "I'm going to forget that ever happened. Think about what I said, Mrs. Ortiz," Once again, he sneered out the name Ortiz, showing his disgust that I was involved with Juice. "Talk to Juan Carlos, convince him or otherwise I will send your white ass to prison."

* * *

Juice was dead silent after I told him everything. We were both sitting on the edge of our bed, Ivy asleep in her room, and Juice was staring at the floor. I wiped my tears from my face and squared my shoulders, trying not to start crying again. Juice was wringing his hands and looked like he was about to start crying too.

"Shelly ratted," Juice said simply after a long silence. I nodded, even though he wasn't looking at me so that he couldn't see me. "That's going to turn someone else into a rat, whether it's me or Roosevelt." I nodded again. Juice looked back up at me. "Running isn't an option anymore."

I shook my head and bit my lip. Juice pulled me closer until my head was resting on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, and it was pumping pretty fast. "I have to take that brick." He said softly. I pushed away from him.

"I can't let you do that, Juice." I said. "If you're caught, Clay will put a bullet through your head."

"Then I won't get caught," Juice said, standing up and grabbing his black hoodie. I hurried after him as he began to get ready to leave the house.

"Juice!" I exclaimed. "You can't go steal that brick for them!" Juice turned on me sharply, towering over me. For the first time since I met him, I felt slightly afraid of Juice.

"And I can't let that bastard send you to prison!" Juice hissed through his teeth. I took a step back as he took a step forward. Juice was only five-eleven, but he seemed taller. "If you go to prison, you can get _years _in prison. I'm not losing you to that cop and you're not going down for what Vince started!" He pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly. I hugged him back, terrified of what would happen when I let him go. Juice kissed the top of my head and let out a shuddering sigh. "I'll be home soon, Moody. Don't wait up."

With that, he let me go and pulled my arms off of him. I watched him go and when the door slammed shut, and I let out the tears that I had been holding back.


	58. 58: Boiling

Tara left the restaurant, looking slightly nervous. She had dropped off a manila folder full of some papers. She hadn't told me what the papers were, just that I should keep them a secret from the rest of the club and that I shouldn't read them. I stuck them in my desk and soon forgot about them, mostly. My mind was too wrapped up with everything else.

It had been about two days since Juice went out in the middle of the night to steal that brick of coke. Shelly didn't show up again; Valerie was worried but I wasn't. Frankly, I couldn't care less if I ever saw Shelly again.

Potter didn't come in that day for any food, and I thought about what that meant for us. It showed that Juice had actually gone through with the theft. I left work a little earlier than everyone else and headed to the clubhouse, where Gemma said she had picked up Ivy for me.

The clubhouse was semi full. I saw Opie and Lyla up on the roof. I didn't plan on staying long, just the idea of staying here while knowing what I knew was nerve-wracking. Gemma came out to greet me, holding Ivy in her carrier. I saw past her and saw someone I had never seen before sitting with Tig at the swing sets. Gemma followed my gaze and rolled her eyes.

"One of Tig's daughters," Gemma explained. "Speaking of daughters," She handed me Ivy's carrier and the diaper bag. Gemma frowned at me and tilted her head a bit. "You okay, sweetie? You look like you're on edge."

"I'm fine," I said. "Thanks for watching over Ivy." I hurried and turned away towards the Buick, feeling Gemma's eyes on my back the whole time. I began to drive home as I got a call from Tara, telling me to hurry home because Juice was shot.

I walked into my house, and dropped my keys on the small table that was right in the hallway. I heard Juice's voice groaning from the extra bedroom we had. Chibs exited the room and took one look at me before giving me a hug. When we were finished I looked up at him, "What happened to him?"

"Juicy got shot in the leg." Chibs explained. "Miles stole a brick of coke, Juice found 'im and Miles tried to kill 'im."

I stared at Chibs, keeping my face blank. "Really? And what happened to Miles?" I felt like I already knew the answer but when Chibs told me that Juice was the one who killed him, I felt my knees shake violently and Chibs caught me under my arms to keep me from falling. Juice groaned in pain again and I felt the strength return to my legs and stood up and headed back there. Chibs watched me leave and began to take care of Ivy.

Juice was laying on his stomach on the bed. Tara was bent over one of his legs, stitching the bullet wound up. "Shit," I whispered. Juice's eyes snapped up the second he heard my voice and he began squirming, which caused Tara to hit the back of his head.

"Stop moving or you'll tear the stitches," She ordered. I locked eyes with Juice briefly before rushing over to him and falling to my knees to kiss his face. Juice grabbed at my face and kissed any part of my face that he could reach. He had his own blood on his hands and a little bit of it got onto my face.

Juice broke away from me and looked at me with a look that told me that he was holding back tears. "I'm sorry, Moody. I'm so sorry." I shushed him, afraid that Tara or even Chibs would hear the guilt that I was hearing in his voice. I sat there with Juice as Tara finished cleaning him up. Chibs had been hanging out in the living room, watching something on T.V with Ivy. Tara left soon after she was finished and after Ivy fell asleep, Chibs left as well. Now it was just me and Juice alone again.

I helped Juice into the living room and we propped his leg up on the coffee table. The entire time he was looking off at something only he could see. I sat down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Juice responded by wrapping his arm around me and letting out a shuddering sigh.

"I had to do it," Juice said. "I had hid the blow in the woods so that I could bring it to Roosevelt later. When I went to go pick it up, Miles saw me and he tried to kill me. I had to do it." His voice cracked and the tears he had been holding back for so long finally came. I didn't say anything, I just let him cry and I held onto him. His head was bent and I pulled him closer until he was resting his head on my shoulder.

Juice's crying suddenly turned into something else. He was suddenly gasping for air and it looked like he couldn't breathe. I sat him back up quickly and stared at him, recognizing immediately what a panic attack looked like. Juice locked eyes with me, the panic radiating from his body. I put my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to keep eye contact with me.

"Breathe with me, Juice." I ordered. "Like this," I took an overdramatic breath in and then another one out. Juice tried to follow my lead but he couldn't the panic attack was so bad. I racked my brain for other ways to stop these attacks and remembered one. So without hesitating, I forced my mouth against his, causing Juice to stop breathing all together.

When I separated myself from Juice, his attack had stopped. Another way of stopping panic attacks was by getting the victim to stop breathing for a few seconds. And Juice had always held his breath every time he kissed me. He pulled me closer until he had my head pressed against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat beating like a drum.

"I hate this," I muttered. Juice let out a short laugh and pressed his forehead against mine.

People say that you need to be strong, smart, and lucky to survive hard times, war, natural disaster, or physical torture. But I say that emotional abuse-anxiety, fear, guilt-is far worse and much harder to survive. We're like lobsters slowly boiling to death in a pot of water.


	59. 59: Tara's Letters

I was opening the restaurant the next day when Shelly walked in. She made eye contact with me and I whipped to my office without a word to her. Shelly ducked her head and followed me, looking like a scolded child. I slammed the door behind her and flipped the switch for the basement. Shelly stared at me with wide eyes. But she went downstairs anyway and I closed the door behind us.

Shelly turned around and faced me. "Suzy, before you say anything-" I cut her off by slapping her across the face. Shelly staggered and looked up at me with tears welling in her big, blue eyes. I hardened my heart and glared at her.

"You betrayed me," I snarled. "You knew that I could get jail time just for this basement being down here. And you blabbed it to a complete stranger!"

"He threatened _me _with aiding!" Shelly yelled back at me. "If I didn't tell him, then I'd go to jail for knowing about it. What would you have me do? Turn myself in?"

I shook my head and started to pace around the basement without meaning to. "You have no idea what you just did to me and my family. I could get kicked out of town because of what you did!"

"Just give me some time," Shelly said, looking like she was fighting back tears. "I will make it up to you, I swear."

I stared at her. "You think I'd let you work for me again? You think I'd trust you after this?" Shelly looked shell-shocked. "Shelly, you're fired. And I never want you to come back in this restaurant." Shelly stared at me, tears running down her face. I stalked out of the basement and sat down at my desk. Shelly left the basement soon after I sat down and she closed my office door behind her.

* * *

It was late afternoon when I went home. I dropped my keys on the table by the front door. It was where we usually sat down our keys the second we entered the house. But my keys clattered to the floor. I frowned at where the small table was now: it had been moved slightly farther down the hall. Ivy let out a loud noise from her carrier and I looked down at her and then back to the keys. I snatched the keys off the ground and sat them on the newly moved table. Then I noticed how the house smelled.

It smelled extremely clean. I glanced in the living room and saw that it had been vacuumed and some of the couches were in different positions, as was the T.V. Juice's collection of video games and DVDs were neatly stacked up and looked like they had been dusted off too. I walked into the kitchen and sat Ivy's carrier on the table before inspecting my kitchen, where the table and counters had been wiped down and the floor had been swept. I shook my head at the insane amount of cleanliness as Juice came out from the hallway. I raised my eyebrows at him and gestured to all the cleanliness.

Juice shrugged. "I did it without really meaning to. The garbage needed to be taken out, but when I did that I kinda couldn't stop." He drifted off and glanced around, looking awkward. I let out a short laugh.

"On the bright side we won't have to clean for the next month," I said. Juice smirked and shrugged. I remembered where Juice had gone earlier today and asked him about his meeting with Roosevelt.

Juice launched into the explanation of how he had arranged to meet the man pulling all of strings. "Because apparently this is going way past Roosevelt, it's someone from a lot higher up."

"Makes sense," I muttered. "When are you meeting him?"

"Tomorrow at around eleven." Juice said. "Oh, and look what Clay gave me." He reached into his cut pocket and pulled out a small white patch. I blinked at it as I realized what this meant, that Juice was completely patched in now. "He said that he was proud of me for how I handled Miles."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Juice."

"I'm sorry too," Juice finally sat down and rubbed his Mohawk. He looked over Ivy and played with her little foot. "I'm really scared, Moody. About everything."

I sat down beside him. "We're going to get through this." I assured him. "One way or another, we will make it through all of this shit." Juice smiled at me in a sad way right as my phone began to ring. I looked down to the caller I.D and saw that Tara was calling me. Juice stood up and pulled Ivy from her carrier before walking back to her room. I watched him go before answering Tara. "Hello?"

"Hi." Tara said shortly. "Do you remember those letters I gave you to hold on to?"

I frowned. "I didn't even know they were letters. But yeah, what bout them?"

Tara didn't answer immediately. "I think you should read them." She finally said shortly. "Don't question why, just read them." I was about to ask why anyway when she hung up on me. I frowned at my phone as Juice came back into the kitchen, cradling Ivy and feeding her a bottle. He saw my expression.

"What'd she say?" He asked.

"She wants me to read some letters that she gave me to hold onto." I said, still a little blindsided by the curtness of Tara's message. Juice asked if I knew what they were about. I shook my head. "No idea. I just know that Tara really didn't want Clay or Gemma to know that I had them."

Juice stared at me. "Really? We're being dragged into more secrecy?" I shrugged and pocketed my phone again. Juice glanced at Ivy before looking back at me. "I'll stay here if you want to go get them real fast."

I tilted my head at him. "You don't have club business tonight?" Juice shook his head.

"Not unless I get called in, which is unlikely. I don't plan on leaving the house tonight." Juice said.

"In that case I'll be right back to get those letters." I said, grabbing my hoodie. "Who knows? Maybe they're important." Juice let out a short laugh and continued to feed Ivy as I walked out the door to pick up the letters from my office.


	60. 60: The Content

When I arrived back at the restaurant, I was surprised to see the former deputy sheriff Hale sitting at the bar. Hale and I locked eyes and I walked over to where he was sitting. Hale gave me a nod and a friendly smile as I sat down. "It's been a long time, Hale," I said.

Hale snorted. "I went over to Lodi, figured I could try and make myself useful there."

"I take it by the sound of your voice that it didn't go so well," I said.

"My own brother," Hale said in a low voice, almost to himself. I felt sorry for Hale, to be booted out of a job by his own brother. "How's that new sheriff been running things?" I narrowed my eyes at the question.

"Okay, I guess." I answered, deciding not to answer with my knowledge of the outlaw side of things. Hale glanced at me, as if he knew I wasn't telling him the whole side of the truth, but he didn't push the subject. A new question popped into my head and I looked at Hale. "Why'd you come back now?"

Hale stiffened and he looked around at the people in the restaurant. "This is my home, Suzanne. I grew up here, I graduated high school here, and I swore I'd protect this place. I may not be a cop here anymore, but I'm not leaving this place for a long time." He paused, as if he finally made up his mind. "I need to talk to Jax." And with that, he paid for his meal and left the restaurant.

I went back into my office and quickly found the manila folder full of the letters. I tucked them under my arm and left in a hurry. There was no way I was going to read these here, and besides, I had my husband and daughter back home waiting for me. When I arrived back home after picking up the folder full of letters from my office. Ivy was sleeping and Juice was back to cleaning. He explained to me more that he always wanted to clean whenever he was nervous. I understood; Juice was terrified and he needed something to keep himself busy.

I sat down on the couch, which was now angled at the T.V in a slightly different way. I opened up the manila folder as Juice walked by with a dirty rag that reeked of dusting spray. I raised my eyebrows at him. "You plan on dusting the whole house?" Juice rolled his eyes and began slapping the ceiling fan's blades, causing specks of dust to float to the ground. I opened up the first letter and soon discovered that the author was JT, Jax's father.

The letters were all address to a woman named Mo. And at first they started off as the letters you would send to a friend, like the ones I occasionally sent Fiona and Kerrianne. JT told Mo of his worries about the club dealing guns, about his grief with his son's death, stuff like that. But it soon became paranoid ramblings as I read farther.

Gemma had been sleeping with Clay before JT died, before Julia left Clay. Vince and Duke made appearances as well, but they were only mentioned in passing, or at least Duke was. Vince had an entire letter dedicated to him, JT ranting to Mo about how Clay was beginning to trust Vince more than JT or Gemma or anyone else.

_I know Clay and Vince have something planned, I just know it. Clay disappears to Moody's for hours at a time, and Vince is always very secretive whenever I ask him about it. I think that Clay is hiding something at Moody's, and his best friend has always been willing to follow Clay._

I frowned for a moment. Did JT not know about the basement? It would appear so, unless he knew and was just suspicious about what it was Clay was hiding down there. But JT never mentions the basement, so I assumed that the basement was just knowledge between Clay and Vince.

_Dear Mo, I spoke to Julia like you suggested. She doesn't know about what Clay and Vince have been talking about either. I can tell that she tried to bring it up to Clay while they were home together, because the next time I saw her, she looked scared and didn't look at Clay for the rest of the day. Meanwhile Gemma saw this and practically rejoiced in her friend's failing marriage._

Marriage? I thought that Clay and Julia's relationship had been more casual, that she had been his steady girlfriend. But Julia had been married to Clay. Juice saw my expression and raised a questioning eyebrow. I shrugged at him and continued reading.

_Julia confided to me that she is pregnant. I fear for her because I know for a fact that she has been fooling around with Vince's brother, Duke. She's trying to bring Clay back to his senses and pull him back to her. For her sake, I hope that this unborn child is Clay's. If the child is born and it's proven to be Duke's, Julia will be forced from the club, as will the child._

The next entry said: _Julia has had an abortion. She told me that she hasn't been with Clay for a while, so the child would have been Duke's. Clay never knew about the pregnancy, but Tig did. Like I said before, I hope that my old friend gets away from the club. She has nothing left here with SAMCRO._

I put the letters down for a while and took a deep breath. Juice was with Ivy now; she had woken up from her nap and he had immediately gone to her. I stood up and paced for a bit, trying to fully absorb the amount of knowledge I had just read. The basement had started as a secret from the club, kept between Clay and Vince, Julia had been married to Clay and she had gotten pregnant with Duke's child while married. I remembered back when I first found out I was pregnant, Tig had been overprotective and had made sure that I wouldn't be able to have an abortion.

He had been trying to make sure I wouldn't do what Julia did.

* * *

I finished reading the letters, and now I was pacing in the living room with Juice reading them on the couch. Juice's facial expression changed from curiosity, to surprise, to the alarm that I was feeling. When he was finished, he looked up at me. "Well, that was enlightening."

"I can't believe that Clay did that to JT," I said. "Gemma told me that JT was wrong about the club but now that we've gone through those," I cut myself off and shook my head. Juice nodded in agreement, not knowing what to say. I hesitated before saying, "I called Julia." Juice looked up at me suddenly.

"You did?" Juice asked.

"She can fill in these holes, Juice." I said. "She's been living in Lodi, apparently. And she says that she'll just come over once. "I want to know everything. Everything that these letters fail to answer. Clay sure as hell won't talk to us, neither will Gemma. Tig won't say anything; he may be my friend but he's too loyal to Clay. Julia's probably the only one who can and will talk to us." Juice sighed and nodded.

Juice got a call from Jax later that night, asking him to go into the clubhouse for a last minute vote. "A vote for what?" He asked. There was a pause in which Juice's eyebrows went straight up. "Okay, I'll be right there." He hung up and looked at me. "It's a vote for a change in leadership."

A shiver went down my spine. "A change in leadership? You mean like, Jax taking over?" Juice nodded. I hesitated before asking, "Will you vote him out?"

Juice didn't answer right away. "Yeah, I'll try." He kissed me briefly before going out the door, off to go try and vote Clay out of power.


	61. 61: Holes

Julia looked awkward standing in my living room. She was shifting her gaze around the room, not letting her blue eyes rest on the framed photos of my new family for too long. I came back into the living room, bringing her a tea and I sat in down on the coffee table for her. Julia nodded in gratitude and sat down, still looking very uncomfortable.

"Your house is lovely," She said awkwardly as she sipped her drink. "And you said it was your husband's before you moved in?"

I nodded, feeling just as awkward as her. "Yeah, I'm renting the apartment at Moody's to Valerie. You do remember Valerie, right?" Julia nodded, putting her drink down. I had already recapped the letters to her-not the entire stack of them, just the ones that included her and Vince and Clay.

"I suppose you want me to start from the beginning?" Julia asked.

"I want you to fill in the holes." I said. "But why didn't you tell me that you and Clay were married? The way you said it before made it sound like you were his steady girlfriend."

Julia sighed. "It was different back then. Clay and I were young, very young. I believe we were both eighteen when we tied that knot. We tried for years to get pregnant, but it just didn't work, which is part of why I knew that the child you read about was Duke's."

"And apparently you were close to JT?" I asked.

Julia shrugged. "We were friends in high school and throughout our days in the club. But we weren't close enough for JT to tell me about what he was planning to do with the club." She stole a glance at the letters, which were all stacked up on the coffee table. "After Thomas died, everyone could tell that something was wrong with him. He was too rattled, too scared. And Clay took that opportunity to take more control, and he had members like Tig back him up on everything. That's when Gemma started going to Clay more." She paused, and her face got twisted, as if she was remembering the memory with bitterness. "I saw what was happening the second it started. Gemma had been my friend and during that time Clay and I were having...difficulties."

"Difficulties like the ones you have with Duke?" I asked without thinking. Julia glared daggers at me.

"No," Julia said. "And it's _had: _I filed for divorce with Duke several months ago." I couldn't help but feel slightly impressed with her. After years of being the weaker one, years of being the victim, she had finally started to stand up on her own again. "But Gemma was a snake. She knew where weakness was, and she'd pounce on it."

"She's still the same," I mumbled.

"I don't doubt that." Julia said. "Either way, I got pregnant about a dew months before JT died. Tig figured it out and so did JT, but I made sure neither of them said anything. And then I got the abortion and-"

"Hang on," I said. "The way you said that. You just breezed by the abortion like it nothing."

"Let me finish," Julia interrupted me right back. "I was going to say that I _told _JT and Tig that I got the abortion. I didn't."

"Unless you're about to tell me that I've got a secret brother or sister you better start talking faster." I said, feeling my heart beginning to beat faster. Julia didn't say anything. I blinked at her. "But I was Duke's right? I mean, you pretty much told me that Clay was shooting blanks. For crying out loud I look like the Moody side of the family!"

Julia sighed deeply. "Throughout high school, I remember our teachers used to say that the Moodys and the Morrows looked related. Even Clay and Vince liked to think of themselves as brothers."

My stomach felt like it was being dragged out of my body. "Oh my God. Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

"That you're Clay Morrow's child?" Julia asked. "Yes, that's what I'm telling you. I've never told anyone else, not Duke, not JT or Gemma, not even Clay."

"So no one knows?" I asked, holding my head in my hands.

"No one. I've never told anyone, you're the first one I've told."

"How'd you figure it out?" I asked. "If Clay was shooting blanks all that time, how'd you know I was his instead of Duke's?"

"I took a test." Julia said. "I didn't even suspect it until you were about five, maybe six. Clay was visiting the restaurant and I walked in to see him holding you while talking to Vince. I saw then how alike the two of you seemed to be and I started thinking about it. So I had some tests done on you and the results were that Duke was not your father. And then I knew."

Ivy started crying from her room. I immediately got up and left the room, heading straight towards her. Julia hesitated before following. I picked up Ivy from her crib and I went back to the kitchen to get her a bottle. Julia followed me, her eyes on Ivy. I gestured at her. "Could you get that bottle ready, please? I've got my hands full here." Julia nodded before doing exactly as I said. I couldn't help but zone out, thinking about everything I had just learned. I wasn't really a Moody, I was a Morrow. And the only Morrow I knew didn't even know I was his.

Julia handed me the bottle and I wasted no time beginning Ivy's feeding. Julia stared at Ivy and me, her eyes glistening with faint tears. "She looks like you." Julia said softly.

"I think she looks more like Juice." I said.

Julia rolled her eyes at me. "Each parent always thinks that their child looks like the other parent." The phone rang and I looked over to glare at it. I turned back to Julia.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked. Julia nodded wordlessly. I handed my daughter to her biological grandmother as I grabbed the phone off its cradle. "Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Moody," Juice said. "Is your mother still there?" I glanced over to where Julia was sitting and staring at Ivy's face. I confirmed that she was still there. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna be a bit late tonight. Cartel drama."

I sighed. "Okay. If you get shot again, make sure I'm the first to know." I let out a short laugh, but my attempt to find humor didn't go far for me. "Just be careful, Juice."

"Yes ma'am," Juice said. "I'll be home around midnight."

After I hung up, I looked back over to Julia. "So on top of my dad not being my dad, I'm the spawn of Clay Morrow, who plotted and killed one of his best friends so that he could have power. This club is being led by him, they tried to vote him out last night but couldn't."

"Who all knows?" Julia asked. "Besides you?"

"I know, Juice knows." I said, counting them off on my fingers. "I'm pretty sure that Tara knows, she's the one who showed me the letters in the first place." I saw the look of confusion on Julia's face. "Tara's the old lady of our V.P." I explained. Julia nodded and looked back down to Ivy.

"Do you still hate me?" Julia asked.

I shook my head. "No. But I don't really trust you right now. Not all the way."

Julia met my eyes firmly. "Let me try, Suzanne. You're a new mother with a husband who's neck deep in club business. I've been there and I could help out a bit. I could watch Ivy if you ever needed me to."

If she thought that Juice was up to his neck in club business, I couldn't imagine what she'd say if she knew about our relationship with Roosevelt. "Fine." I said. "But you can start by coming over once a week, let us get used to your presence here. By the way, I'd be on my best behavior around Juice if I were you. He doesn't like you and he doesn't trust you."

"I'm the mother-in-law." Julia said, shaking her head. "I thought I was the one who needed to be the one threatening him."

"You've been out of the club world for a long time," I said. "Just promise me this: don't show your face at Teller-Morrow. If Gemma or Clay sees you there, they'll know something's up." Julia nodded, understanding. I sighed and began brewing a pot of coffee, my mind swimming and another weight added to the pile that was already on my shoulders.


	62. 62: Winding Roads

When Juice didn't come home the next night, I knew that something was wrong. And when I got a call from Roosevelt, I knew that he had something to do with that. He didn't say exactly why he was calling, just that he needed me to come down to the police station. I dropped off Ivy at daycare before heading that way. Roosevelt must've told the other cops that I was coming because none of them stopped me when I entered and they allowed me to go right back into Roosevelt's office.

Roosevelt had a dark purple bruise right under his eye and his lip was spilt. I held back my smug grin as I took in his small injuries. Roosevelt glared at me and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, admire your husband's handiwork."

"Juice did that to you?" I asked. "Remind me to kiss him next time I see him. That is when you let him out of your holding cells. I'm assuming that's where he is right now, right?"

Roosevelt met my gaze evenly. "No, he's not in there. I was hoping that you were the one who bailed him out."

I blinked at him. "What now? You mean to tell me that you don't know where he is?"

"I got word just this morning that Juice was taken out of his holding cell late last night. I assumed it was you." Roosevelt said.

"You lost him?" I asked, anxiety and anger filling up inside of me. "How the hell do you lose a person in a cell?"

"Calm down, Mrs. Ortiz." Roosevelt ordered, taking a step forward. "Let me get to the bottom of this." He left the office and I closely followed him. Roosevelt glared at me from over his shoulder. "I thought I said that _I'm _going to get to the bottom of this."

"Do you really think you're gonna go out on a hunt for Juice without me. I'm coming with you." I said. Roosevelt held my gaze before nodding in agreement. We walked up to the desk in front of the holding cells, where a cop was munching on a doughnut. I rolled my eyes at the cliché happening in front of me as Roosevelt finally thought to ask the cop who removed Juice from his cell.

"ATF," The cop said shortly. "They came in around ten, picked him up, didn't tell me why they took him."

"Did they tell you where?" I interrupted. Roosevelt threw me a glare. The cop shook his head and I bunched my fists up at my side. I left the desk and the police station, frustration and anger and fear beginning to wash over me completely. Roosevelt followed and grabbed at my arm, trying to get me to stop my frantic pacing.

Out of instinct, I threw one of my bunched up fists and I connected with the injured side of Roosevelt's face. Roosevelt stumbled and reached at his face while I shook out my hand, hurting it when I had punched Roosevelt. We both straightened up and looked at each other, neither of us saying anything. Finally, Roosevelt snorted.

"I guess, looking back on it, I deserved that." Roosevelt said. "I know where we can look for Juice." He started walking for his cop car. I glanced at my Buick, parked over by some government-looking car.

"I'll follow you wherever." I said.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You're afraid of riding in a police car?"

"No, but when I get Juice back, I highly doubt he's going to want to be in that car of yours for any longer than he has to be." I explained. Roosevelt nodded in understanding before walking towards the Buick. "What're you doing?"

"It doesn't make sense for both of us to drive two separate cars." Roosevelt said. He got into the passenger seat and I sighed deeply before getting into the car as well. I started the car and began to pull out of the parking space when Roosevelt cleared his throat loudly and gave me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes before buckling up.

"I was going to get it done," I muttered.

"Sure you were," Roosevelt said. He acted as my GPS, pointing me when to turn and where to go. We were driving to the Stockton prison, where apparently the ATF had special holding cells.

We were driving on a straight road when I heard motorcycles coming from ahead of us. Roosevelt perked up as well, scanning the horizon for any signs of the club. But they must've taken one of the backgrounds on the street, because we never ran into them. I was grateful for that; how in the world would I explain the cop sitting in the front seat of my car?

After an hour of driving to Stockton prison, we finally arrived. Roosevelt led the way to the prison and I wrapped my hand up inside of my pocket. I now had some large bruises on my knuckles, showing exactly how hard I had hit Roosevelt. And he now had a fresh bruise on his face, right underneath the one Juice had given him.

We walked into the administrative area of the prison and Roosevelt was directed to where the ATF agents holed themselves up. The agents looked up upon Roosevelt and I entering but they stood up the second they saw me. "She can't be here." One of them said. He gave Roosevelt a very pointed look and the realization that they already knew each other filled my mind. I glared at Roosevelt but he avoided my gaze and held the looks of the ATF agents.

"I'm here to see my husband," I snapped. "By the way, it is completely illegal the way you took him from Charming without alerting the people on his emergency contact list. And who's on that list, oh yeah, that'd be me." The ATF agents glanced at each other when someone else entered the room from where the holding cells were.

Lincoln Potter met my gaze and gave me a small smirk that made me want to punch him. Roosevelt glanced between us. "You?" I began, staring at Potter. He smiled pleasantly at me.

"Nice to see you too, Suzy." Potter said with that infuriating smile on his face.

"Don't you dare call me that, you sick son of a bitch." I snarled. The ATF agents glanced at each other and Roosevelt looked between me and Potter. I took a step forward, appearing braver than I actually felt. "Let Juice go. You can't hold him here."

Potter shrugged. "That convict husband of yours and I are in the middle of negotiating. Can't have you interrupting the process now can we?"

"Negotiating?" I repeated with a glance at Roosevelt. He looked just as lost as I did when it came to negotiating. "Negotiating on what?"

"I think he'll be the one to tell you later." Potter said. "And I'll be more than happy to release him, when he cooperates."

"You mean when he does what you want," I said. Potter blinked and tilted his head to the side.

"Why don't you take a seat, Mrs. Ortiz? I'm sure Juice will be more likely to cooperate once he knows that you're being held here too."

I blinked at him. Roosevelt stared at Potter as he moved forward and behind me. Potter continued talking. "Judging by your knuckles and the fresh bruises on Lieutenant Roosevelt, you struck a federal officer." Potter pushed me forward until I was beside one of the unopened cell doors. "Don't worry, Mrs. Ortiz, you won't be arrested for this. The moment Juice cooperates is the moment you'll be let out as well."

"It's not legal to keep me in here," I snapped as he opened the door. I heard Roosevelt raising a storm with the other ATF agents from the room that we had left him in. Potter blinked at me and closed the cell door in my face. I kicked the door in anger and looked at my surroundings.

The cell was brightly lit and the ledge that made the bed looked amazingly uncomfortable. I shuddered at the thought of Juice spending the night in here by himself. I sat down on the crappy excuse for a bed and leaned back.

After about thirty minutes of me sitting in there, Potter returned. I stiffened in my seat and glared daggers at him. He sat down beside me and I shifted away just a bit.

"Juice was understandably worried about you when I informed him of your predicament. So I gave them the papers and a deal; if he signs them for me, he'll be let out as well as you. But if he refuses, I'll go ahead and charge both of you with appropriate charges."

I glared at him with hatred. "You're a sick bastard, you know that right?"

Potter smirked. "It's a phrase I hear daily. Now when Juice signs the papers, you'll both be let go."

"And he'll officially be a rat." I finished.

He tilted his head at me. "I must say that I admire the loyalty you've been showing both Juice _and _the club. You've stood by your husband when any other woman would've ran. And you've also remained loyal to the club, the only thing you've hid from them is Juice's secret."

He obviously didn't know about my real father being the president.

There was another ten minutes alone before Roosevelt came and got me from the cell. I met his eyes and he looked like he was against the entire situation going on. Just by that look, I could tell that Juice signed the papers. Roosevelt and I walked out of the Stockton prison, where Juice was standing nose to nose with Potter out beside my Buick. I could imagine that Juice had been asking where I was.

"Juice?" I said. He turned and pulled me into his arms before I could even respond. I hugged him tightly, ignoring the fact that Roosevelt and Potter were watching from a little ways away. I breathed him in, missing every bit of him since he had been gone. When we separated, I looked back over to them to where Potter was walking away. Roosevelt had been looking at the ground but he looked back up to us.

"Answer your phone more often, Juice." Roosevelt said. "I'll keep you updated," He gave me a glance. "I'll keep both of you updated." He began to walk away.

"Hey, Roosevelt." I said. He looked back at me. I nodded at him. "Thanks for telling me about him being here." Roosevelt nodded at me before heading off back to the prison. I looked back up at Juice. "We'll think of a way to stop this. I swear to you, we're going to figure out how to stop that damned RICO operation."

"They told you about that?" Juice asked.

"Roosevelt filled me in on everything," I replied. "I think he wants to try and make this mess better. He's just following orders from the jackass in leather in there."

Juice nodded. "Jackass in leather. Why does that sound like an insult you would say to the some club members?"

"What do you think Valerie and Shelley were calling you guys when I showed up?" I asked. We got into the Buick and began to drive back to Charming.

Juice had that almost-angry look of concentration on his face. "What Potter's been doing is all kinds of illegal. What are the chances that we can get him put away for it?" He glanced at me.

"You mean Hale?" I asked. "Is he working for the club now?"

Juice shrugged. "Not really working for the club. More like becoming a more powerful friend." I nodded in understanding. Juice continued. "If we can let Hale know what's going on, then he can do something, as long as he's a cop again."

I looked over at Juice, "You're an evil genius, Juice."


	63. 63: Fix You

Juice and I went to the clubhouse after I picked him up from the feds. Both Chibs and Tig had been blowing up my phone, Chibs had even left me some angry messages. I listened to them as I drove back, putting the phone on speaker so that Juice could hear too.

"Moody, where the hell are you and Juice?" Chibs asked with frustration. "Neither of ya are answering your phones. If I find you both dead in a ditch, I'm gonna kill you." He left several more messages that followed along those same lines on both of our phones. We pulled into the Teller-Morrow lot with all of the other club members pacing around inside the clubhouse.

Bobby saw us first and let everyone else know that we were there. Tig yelled, "Where the hell have you two been?"

Chibs hugged me tightly and shoved Juice aside. "You both 'ad me worried sick! What 'appened?" Everyone present-Chibs, Bobby, Tig, Opie, and Gemma-stared at Juice and I as I did some fast thinking.

Juice cleared his throat. "Our phones died. And for the question as to where we've been; we had to get out of town for a while so we got a motel in Lodi."

"Without Ivy?" Gemma asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

I nodded. "Valerie offered to babysit her for the night." Gemma was still frowning at us but no one else questioned it. Juice hurried behind the bar and grabbed two beers from it. I quickly took one from him and cracked it open, feeling edgy.

"It's ten thirty in the morning," Gemma noted. I ignored her and took a swig of the bottle. Tig then launched into an explanation of what we had missed in the last twenty-four hours, and apparently Juice and I didn't even have to do anything when it came to putting our plan to get Hale back into the police department. When Hale left me at Moody's so abruptly, he had gone to talk to Jax because apparently he wanted to help us again. Jax had pulled some strings from God-knows-where and Hale was now becoming a cop again. He might not be high up like he used to be, but he'll wear a uniform and he'll be Officer Hale again.

Clay entered the room from the chapel and I found myself stiffening t the sight of him, knowing what I knew. He looked over to see Juice and me standing by the bar and he nodded at us. "Good to see that you two are still in one piece." He sounded stressed out. I took another swig of beer as Chibs explained where we had "been hiding" for the night.

I found that I couldn't really look at Clay properly, not that I now knew that he was my birth dad. And the weird thing was that he didn't know. I knew this life-changing secret and he didn't, even though it completely involved him too. When I told Juice about Clay being my dad a few days ago, he had blinked and looked like a lost puppy for a moment. "Well, damn," He muttered.

"'Well, damn,' is the last thing I thought!" I had exclaimed, pacing in front of him, gently bouncing Ivy in my arms. She stared at me with those wide brown eyes of hers. "I can't even look at Clay anymore because of what I know. What if Julia was lying and he does know but he hasn't mentioned it to me yet."

Juice shrugged. "I don't know. I think maybe Clay really doesn't know. That means that the only people that do know are my mom, you, me, and little Ivy right there, but I doubt our daughter's gonna be ratting to anyone. Tara didn't put it together did she?"

"I don't know. She was the one to give me the letters. Maybe she just thought I should know?" That sounded like a crappy excuse the second I said it. "I tried calling Tara this morning but she's going on some trip with Jax and the boys up to Oregon. She has some interview with a hospital up there or something."

"Sounds like fun," Juice said with an eyeroll.

Now that I was face-to-face again with Clay, I could see that he really didn't know or he didn't care. He didn't look at me the way Juice looked at Ivy, or even the way Chibs looked at me. I watched my biological father kiss Gemma and grab a beer from the fridge, acting the way he always did. I tore my eyes away but now I wasn't as narrow-minded when it came to Clay like I had used to.

Clay and I had similar features; now that they had been pointed out, I could see them. We had the same cheekbones, the same jaw. I was guessing that Clay had been blond when he was younger, seeing as Julia's entire family had auburn hair. If I let my blond hair grow out, I would probably look more like Clay than ever, and then more people would probably connect the dots.

Juice and I hung out at the clubhouse for a while before heading home to get Ivy from daycare. When we arrived home, I sat in silence on the couch, holding Ivy while the T.V played. Juice stood in the doorway for a moment, watching us, before moving on into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later and he took the spot on the couch right next to me.

"Are you okay?" He asked me quietly.

"I honestly don't know," I said. We sat in silence for a long moment before I turned to face him. "How do you think this is all going to end? Potter, Hale, Julia and Clay?"

Juice met my eyes evenly. "No clue. But I do know that whatever it is, we're gonna get through it."

I thought about how I acted around Clay today, how Potter had officially turned Juice into a rat, and how meager our plan of getting Potter gone seemed to be. "I pray to God that you're right." I said softly.


	64. 64: Truce For Now

The hospital waiting room was filled with the members of SAMCRO. I had gotten word about Tara's injury a few hours ago, Jax had made sure to call everyone and he seemed extremely frazzled. I sat between Juice and Chibs, nervous about the results of Tara's surgery.

When Jax told us about the men that tried to abduct Tara, I had felt horrified, as had everyone else a part of the club. She had escaped, but her poor hand had been crushed by the van door, and now she was in surgery to try and save it.

Jax came out of the surgery room a few hours later, and he told us that the doctors did their best on Tara's hand. "But they don't know if she'll be able to fully use it again." Jax said, looking extremely guilty and sad.

"When do you think she'll be ready for visitors?" I asked after the initial shock and grief set in.

Jax shrugged. "Not sure, but I'll let you know, Moody." I nodded and left the hospital after that, leaving Juice with the others so that they could go do some club business. I was still nervous about what all could happen to him while on these mysterious runs for the club, but it wasn't my place to question it. It was never my place to question it.

I bumped into Clay on the way out of the hospital, and I was surprised at how nervous he looked. "How's Tara?" He asked me hurriedly.

"Um, she's fine for now. She just got out of surgery." I said, unable to look him in the eye. What if he had some sort of weird epiphany and figured it all out? But Clay quickly caught on to my weird behavior and called me out on it.

"Is something wrong with _you_?" He asked, sounding mean without even meaning to. I forced myself to look up into his face and shake my head in a defining "no."

"No, I'm fine." I said without even blinking. "Just a little frazzled, you know?"

Clay blinked at me and I got the feeling that he knew exactly how I felt. But instead of opening up he just shrugged. "This life will get better, Suzanne. It's just hectic right now thanks to the damn cartel."

"Do you regret it?" I asked without bothering to stop myself. Clay had looked away from me but he now gave me his full attention. I met his eyes fully this time.

"The cartel? I'm beginning to." Clay said curtly. His gaze lingered on mine for a moment before he turned to go into the hospital. I watched him leave, wondering if he regretted anything else that happened to him.

* * *

The sight of Julia sitting in my living room was never going to seem normal, I thought as I watched my mother bounce Ivy on her knee. Juice obviously wasn't enjoying the fact that Julia was hanging around; the second she walked in the door, he walked out to go meet the club at the clubhouse. Now Julia was sitting with my daughter on the couch, shaking her head at my life choices.

"I always thought you'd be able to stay away from SAMCRO." Julia was saying. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Well, with Vince's deal at Moody's, I think getting away from SAMCRO was near impossible." I said.

"The moment Vince made that deal with Clay, I knew that we had to get out of Charming." Julia said, staring off into space, as if she could was watching something only she could see. "What with the club being so close all the time, I figured that it was only a matter of time before Clay or someone else figured out my little secret." She looked down at Ivy. "Make sure that your girl makes better life choices."

"I intend to," I said curtly. I glanced at my cell phone, to which Julia noticed.

"What are they doing?" She asked.

I was tempted to tell her to mind her own business, but instead I told her about the meeting with the Irish and the cartel (though I kept the cartel part to myself). Julia sighed deeply and looked the most understanding she's ever been. "I've been there, honey."

We made small talk for the better part of an hour when my cell phone finally rang. I practically flew over to it to answer it and when I picked up, it was Tig who was calling me, instantly filling me up with dread.

"Tig why are you the one calling me? Did something happen to Juice? Chibs?" I asked him as fast as I could.

"Calm down, Moody!" Tig said on the other end. "Juice and Chibs are fine." He paused. "But Sack and Kozik aren't."

* * *

I waited in the hospital waiting room; this room was getting far too familiar. Julia had insisted on coming the second she heard that Sack was hurt. "I watched that boy grow up!" She snapped at me when I tried to make her stay home. "I owe it to his poor mother to make sure that he's fine."

Kozik had died today by stepping on a landmine. I didn't even want to know why they were involved with landmines in the first place, but Sack had been out there with Kozik and had been right next to him when the mine went off. And now my friend was in the middle of surgery, probably going to have another long stay in the hospital.

The rest of the club were in the other waiting room, and I was really hesitant to join them with Julia following me. So far only Juice knew she was here, and he wasn't about to tell his brothers about her. The only way they were all going to find out about Julia's presence was if I brought her in there with me, which was probably going to be sooner than later. Tig was blowing up my phone with texts asking why I wasn't at the hospital yet.

Ivy was asleep in her carrier and I was pacing, trying to think of reasons why Julia would be here with me when Jax entered the room, probably going to visit Tara. And he froze when he saw Julia and me standing in the same room. Julia stiffened but didn't say anything. Jax raised his eyes slowly to meet mine, silently questioning why the hell she was here.

"Long story," I said. "What's the word on Sack?"

Jax held my gaze for another long moment before answering. "His leg got hurt real bad in the mine. They might be able to save it, but..." He trailed off and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I put the pieces together of what could happen to a member who could no longer ride. Jax sighed and gave Julia a glare. "And you might want to come up with a good explanation for her fast; Juice, Chibs, and Tig are all about to come out to hunt for you." And with that he left to go find Tara's room.

I exchanged a glance with Julia. "Are you ready to face all of them again?" I asked her, more scared for her than for myself.

Julia looked like she was about to face the terrifying ghosts of her past. "I don't think I would ever be fully ready to see them all again. Last time they saw me, I was at that hospital with you about to disown you." Right as she finished speaking, Juice entered the room and froze, looking between us. And appearing at his shoulders were Chibs and Tig.

Chibs looked like he wanted to spit on Julia right then and there. Tig looked disgusted to be in her presence. Julia ducked her head under their gaze and the fearful woman I had known as my mother appeared again. I frowned at the club members and moved to the side, blocking my mother from their angry gazes. Both Chibs and Tig looked like they had never seen me before.

"Moody, what the hell is she doing here?" Chibs asked, looking like he was willing to toss me aside to get to Julia.

"In case you've forgotten, this is still the same woman who disowned you for standing up for yourself!" Tig snapped.

"I'll never forget that," I snapped back at him. Tig glared at me, his icy blue eyes flashing. "But that hatchet's been buried, and that's all you guys need to know." Juice raised his eyebrows at me, looking impressed. Chibs accepted my answer, but he still looked pissed about it. Tig, however, let out a cruel laugh.

"I don't think Clay's gonna let that stay buried," Tig said in a dark voice.

"Let what stayed buried?" Clay asked as he entered the room. Even though I was standing right in front of Julia, there was no way I could hide her from Clay's eyes. He had a look on his face that seemed like he was forcing a blank stare. Julia nudged me aside so that she could stand up. I stared at her in amazement as she left my side to walk very calmly up to Clay.

Julia was only five-foot-one, the exact same height as me. Compared to Clay, she barely passed his chest. And when she walked up to him, looking strangely calm, I could finally imagine how they must've looked like when they were still together. Julia kept her eyes on Clay as she stuck out her hand for a handshake.

"Truce?" She asked him in a small voice. Tig exchanged and angry glance with Chibs, who had been around back then to witness their relationship. There was a long pause in which Julia's hand just hung there in empty air, but then Clay shook her hand back, his large hand wrapping itself easily around hers.

"Truce for now," Clay said in his usual growl. He dropped her hand after that and left the waiting room in a hurry, Tig and the others on his heels. Chibs gave me a look that silently asked if I knew what I was doing. I patted his shoulder and sent him after his club. Juice kissed me briefly before hurrying after them. I turned to face Julia and I shrugged.

"That went better than I expected."


	65. 65: Family

The doctor in charge of Sack's surgery told me that they were forced to amputate Sack's leg from a few inches above the knee. The most part of his right had been extremely burnt and torn, completely destroyed. The doctor released me into Sack's room and I once again saw my friend in a comatose state, but this time, he was missing a large part of himself.

Julia took Ivy back home and I sat at Sack's bedside, willing my friend to wake up and for that the whole landmine incident could've been another bad dream. But that wasn't happening. I was only with him for thirty minutes when the club came back from wherever. Jax led the way in with Chibs right behind him, both of them looking completely shell-shocked at what had happened.

Juice squeezed past them and he pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged him back, grateful for his presence. Jax was feeling Sack's forehead, as if this was just a harmless fever. Chibs lifted the blanket over Sack's stump and he shook his head, looking disgusted with the situation.

"Juice, I need to talk to your wife," Clay's voice sounded from right next to us. Juice looked like he was going to argue but I stopped him by leaving him in the alone, exiting with Clay following me closely. We stopped out in the hallway, and I looked up at Clay, having a feeling about what he was going to talk about. Clay took a moment before speaking. "Why is Julia back in Charming?" He asked.

I told him what I had decided while they were gone. "She and I have buried the hatchet and she wants to know her granddaughter. She's only by my house once a week; she just came to the hospital because she wanted to see if Sack was okay."

Clay narrowed his eyes at me. I noticed for the first the large bruise on the side of his face. He must've noticed that I noticed because he shifted his head around so that it was out of my sight. "You do realize that-"

"Yes I know she was part of the reason that I was disowned." I said, beginning to get sick and tired of hearing it. Clay blinked at me.

"I was going to ask if you realized that she and I had been married."

Now it was my turn to blink at him. "Oh. No, I didn't realize that." Clay nodded.

"We got together right after high school; we were both young and stupid." He said slowly, looking like he was remembering it. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

Clay met my gaze. "Because if she's going to be hanging around Charming, I want you to make sure that you keep that bitch away from me and my wife." I nodded, understanding the threat perfectly. Clay left me standing there to go see Half-Sack. I stared after him, feeling terrified of the club's president.

* * *

Juice was getting dressed to go talk to Lincoln again. This time, however, I knew there was good chance that Lincoln would hold him overnight. "If I'm not back in two days, then and only then do you have my permission to worry." Juice said, looking at me firmly in the eye. "Until then, take care of Ivy, run your business, and keep Julia away from Clay and Gemma."

"You don't have to tell me twice," I said, still unnerved by what Clay had told me. I couldn't help but wonder if Clay would act the same if he knew about just how related we were, but some small voice in my head told me that he'd act the exact same as he does now.

Juice kissed me deeply before leaving and I watched him leave, feeling that familiar ache that I got whenever he left me. I closed the front door and sat down at the kitchen table, holding my head in my hands and wondering how my life would've been if I had left Charming while I still could.

* * *

Chibs came over a few hours later, saying that he felt like we never saw each other anymore. Now I was sitting in my living room with him while Chibs stared me down with those dark eyes of his, looking suspicious. I sipped my water quietly when he started to talk.

"You and Juice doin' okay?" Chibs asked. "Ya both 'ave been awfully quiet, even for you two." I shrugged. Chibs rolled his eyes at me. "Juice told me 'bout his pa being black, so if that's what you're hiding you can stop right there."

I sighed, as if Juice's dad was the heaviest problem on my mind. "When did he tell you?" I asked.

"Just that his pa was black and that's what Roosevelt was holdin' over his head." Chibs narrowed his eyes at me. "Was there more?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "You didn't tell Clay or any of them, did you?"

Chibs snorted. "After I saw how freaked out Juice was? Nah, Clay and Jax don't need to know 'bout Juice's daddy." He took a drink of his beer right as his phone started to ring. Chibs groaned deep in his throat as he answered the phone. "'Ello?"

I watched Chibs's face go from slightly annoyed to outright horrified in two seconds flat. He mumbled that he'd be there and then slammed his phone shut. "What happened?" I asked, feeling the fright for him as if I had any idea as to why Chibs was so freaked out.

"Clay got shot," Chibs said briefly. "Jax thinks it was some Niners. Sorry Moody, but I gotta get to the hospital." He stood up and so did I.

"I'm coming too," I said in a firm voice.

"Why?" Chibs asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

I remembered back to when I was in the hospital all that time ago, how when the doctor told the Sons to leave my room, Clay had said something that now made me think twice. "Because he's a part of the club and that makes him my family." I told Chibs. He narrowed his eyes at me but groaned anyway.

"Fine. Ivy's at Gemma's right?" Chibs asked. I nodded; Gemma had wanted to give me some time away from my kid so she volunteered to babysit for the night. I followed Chibs outside to his bike and we hurried to the hospital.


	66. 66: Spilled

The rest of the club were already at the hospital when Chibs and I arrived. Happy and Tig were perched in chairs, both looking extremely stressed and pissed off and frightened. I half expected them to question me presence, but they never did. Tig gathered me into a tight hug and I hugged my friend back before asking how Clay was doing.

Tig shook his head. "No one's talkin' to us because we're not _family_. I've tried getting ahold of Jax but he's not picking up his phone."

Unser entered the waiting room with Roosevelt and two cops behind him. I narrowed my eyes at Roosevelt and took a seat by Happy. Happy glanced at me but didn't question why I chose to sit next to him. Chibs was perched on the coffee table as Unser, who was apparently at the scene, gave his statement to Roosevelt.

"Two African men," Unser was saying. "But then they had tinted windows, so I don't know for sure."

Roosevelt looked to all of us sitting down. "And none of you were there?"

"I was with the girl," Chibs said gruffly, gesturing over his shoulder to me. I met Roosevelt's gaze and nodded, confirming that Chibs had been with me. Tig and Happy both gave their statements; neither of them had been there.

"What about cameras?" Roosevelt asked. Happy said that they didn't record. "Of course they don't. Alright, I want to speak to Clay when he's conscious. The rest of you stay available." He gave each of us a nod before leaving. Tig narrowed his eyes at Unser before swooping down on him.

"You said they were black?" Tig asked. Happy and Chibs both stood up to tower over Unser. Unser stumbled with his words and said that he didn't see color. He made an excuse to walk away while the men in front of me hissed at each other in hushed voices. Tig left suddenly.

Chibs cursed before beginning to pace around the room. Happy's eyes followed him for a moment before he too began to pace opposite of Chibs. I glanced between the both of them, feeling useless.

Gemma arrived just as Clay was taken into surgery. I sucked in my breath sharply at the sight of her face, which showed obvious signs of a closed fist. I didn't bring it up though, and Gemma didn't bother to fill me in. It was her business, and she would never tell me even if there was any way I could help. We all continued to wait in the waiting room for about an hour before I decided I needed to go home to my daughter. Gemma, upon hearing this, decided to give me a ride home, not caring about waiting around for Clay's surgery to be over.

Gemma and I didn't talk much in the car. But when we pulled up to my driveway, Gemma stiffened at the car sitting there. I stiffened as well when I saw that it was Julia's car sitting there. Gemma parked the car and stormed out of the car. I quickly followed her, muttering the word, "Shit."

The door was unlocked when Gemma opened it. "Gemma!" I shouted, trying in vain to get her to stop. I rushed inside just in time to see the two women staring each other down.

I tried to imagine how these two were like when they were young. Julia had said that Gemma was younger and that had put her ahead of Julia, since she was with the president instead of the vice president. But now Gemma towered over Julia due to her heels, and they were a lot older and a lot meaner than they had been when they were sixteen and nineteen.

"I see Clay's been treating you well," Julia said with a smirk at Gemma's bruises. "I would advise you use lots of ice to keep that swelling down."

"You would know, you punching bag." Gemma said with a snarl. "How long did your husband beat you?"

"About as long as yours beat you." Julia said. "Don't think I never noticed those bruises you had on your face all that time ago. I remember you'd walk into Moody's with new bruises every week. How long was it before he stopped? Because it looks like he didn't stop."

"You cunt!" Gemma shrieked, throwing the first thing she could get her hands on-a plate from the table. Julia ducked just in time and was about to charge at Gemma before I got in the way, not allowing these two to fight in my house.

"Both of you better stop!" I shouted at them. "Stop acting like your sixteen and get your shit together!" I had my hands up, trying to keep the two pissed off women from getting to each other. "You're both adults so start acting like it, God dammit." Gemma and Julia both glared daggers at me but neither of them made moves to kill each other again. I slowly put my hands down, hoping that they wouldn't try and kill each other while I lowered them.

"Happy now?" Gemma asked me rudely. She sat down at my table while keeping her angry gaze on Julia. Julia followed her lead and sat down opposite of her. I rolled my eyes at both of them and sat down between them.

"Ivy's taking her nap, by the way." Julia said to me. "I had just put her down when the Queen-Bitch over there stormed in like she owned the place."

"Come up with better insults, Julia." Gemma said with a sneer.

"You two are acting like you're high school girls fighting over the quarterback. Get over it." I snapped. I glared at Julia. "He cheated on you with her, so you cheated right back to get even." I turned to Gemma. "You made the mistake of keeping the asshole and you're stuck with him. Either way, you're both insane bitches. Now that we've got our roles straightened out, can we talk like adults or do I have to be the mature one here?"

Gemma and Julia glared at me when I was finished. Neither of them were finished though. Gemma said with a mean laugh, "You actually slept with Duke to bring Clay back to you? You were pathetic back then and you're pathetic now. He told me about how you showed up at the hospital and called for a damn truce. He hates you, you know that right? Clay _hates _your skinny ass because you left him for his best friend's brother. In his eyes, you are a common whore and you'll never be anything else other than that."

I should've known how much Julia still cared for Clay. She had come back for me, but deep down I always figured that she back with the intention of getting Clay back as well. Ever since my mother started showing up again, I had gotten to know her better, and I now knew that Clay had been her first love and that he still held a big piece of her heart. So when she heard Gemma say those cruel things, the truth about how Clay felt about her, she lashed out with the one thing Gemma had never given Clay: a child.

Julia had tears beginning to form in her eyes. "What's the one thing Clay's always wanted, Gemma? Something I can clearly see you've never given him. Must be that loose gash of yours that keeps any kids sticking in there now."

Gemma looked completely insulted but her eyes began to figure things out. I stared at my mother, horrified with what she just said. "Wait." Gemma said softly. I turned to look at her as my heart began to pound inside my chest. Gemma was glancing between me and Julia, and I could tell that she was searching for similarities. "You didn't..."

Julia must've realized what secret she let loose because her face got pale and she looked like she was going to throw up. Gemma stopped staring at Julia and suddenly, her eyes were all for me. Gemma's eyes got even wider as she discovered the awful truth.

"You're not..." She began to say but she drifted off. Before Julia or I could stop her, Gemma leapt from her seat and sprinted out the door. I was shaking with fear at what Gemma now knew, that Clay and I were related in more ways than just the club. I turned slowly to look at Julia. She looked just as horrified as I did, if not more.


	67. 67: The Truth

Chibs glared at Julia from my couch. Julia, too uncomfortable to sit beside Chibs, was content to stand in the corner. I sat on the couch beside Chibs, trying to figure out how exactly I'd tell him that I was Clay's daughter.

He reacted how I thought he would, with silence and a stunned expression on his face. He didn't even look at Julia, he just stared at me with understanding in his eyes. "That's why you've been actin' weird."

I let out a short laugh. "So you noticed that?" I asked.

"Hon, we all noticed that." Chibs said. "We just assumed that you and Juice were havin' problems." He paused and frowned. "You aren't havin' problems, are ya?" I shook my head, still defending my husband from what could happen if the club found out about him being a rat. Chibs glanced over at Julia, who was watching him with a guarded expression. "And you're sure that Moody is Clay's?"

Julia nodded. "I had that test done years ago."

"What happens now?" I asked, looking at Chibs for guidance. I needed him to be the overprotective adopted dad I had come to know him as. Chibs met my eyes briefly before narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

"Gemma knows," He said, listing off the fact. I confirmed that, not knowing what Gemma was planning on doing with that information. Chibs looked back to me. "Knowing Gemma, she's gonna keep that information a secret until she thinks it can benefit her. When she thinks it'll benefit her, she'll blow it up all over the club. You gotta take that power from her before she gets the chance."

"You mean tell Jax and the rest of the club?" I asked. Chibs raised his eyebrows at me, confirming my answer but he also looked like he waiting for more. I felt my stomach drop as I caught up to him. "You mean tell Clay myself?"

Julia looked flustered. "Clay's at the hospital now. We could drive over there and tell him together!"

"Sorry, Julia, but Clay told me to make sure you don't get near him." I said, finally telling her what Clay had told me at the hospital. Julia looked shattered after I told her and Chibs was shaking his head.

"Moody, I'll take ya over there." Chibs said. "I've known Gemma for years and trust me, if she figures out that this information can help her or hurt you, she'll take that chance and blab the whole club." He stood up and pulled me to my feet. Julia said that she'd take care of Ivy until I got back and I left with Chibs to go to the hospital.

* * *

Clay looked completely broken when I peered through the window on the door and saw him lying on the hospital bed. "Maybe we can come by later." I said, attempting to back away. Chibs growled a little before pushing me back forward.

"We've already circled the damn hospital while you stalled, Miss Moody." Chibs reminded me. "Now get your ass in there and tell him before Gemma does."

I struggled to come up with a good excuse. "But he's...asleep!" I said when I saw that he was, in fact, asleep. From out here I could see his heart monitor and the scanner that told us how fast his heart was beating and how deeply he was breathing.

Chibs rolled his eyes at me. "Then get in there and wait for him to wake up. Whether you like it or not, you've got to tell him. The man has a right to know that he has a kid, especially since he's wanted one for a long time."

"You know," I said. "People keep saying that but I'm not seeing it."

"Just wait for him to wake up," Chibs repeated himself before opening the door for me. I locked eyes with him before I headed into the room, not having any idea what I was going to say. Chibs closed the door behind me and I saw him sit on the bench across from the door. I rolled my eyes at him, figures he wouldn't trust me to actually stay in here.

In his sleep, Clay stretched his legs, letting out a small groan. I sighed and sat down in the chair beside his bed. The room was bare: there weren't any flowers or cards, nothing. I would think that Gemma or somebody would be here for him. But after what I read in those letters, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Jax and Tara weren't here.

I was waiting for about an hour before Clay finally showed signs of stirring. His face twitched in his sleep and his eyes fluttered open. I stared at him, too nervous to draw attention to myself. Clay's eyes drifted around the room, slowly, taking in all of his surroundings. And then they finally landed on me. I met his eyes evenly as Clay reached up his hand and removed the plastic mask from his face.

He coughed roughly as his lungs forced themselves to get used to the sudden lack of oxygen. I scooted forward a bit, wanting to help but also not wanting to. When Clay was finished he met my eyes carefully before smiling crookedly at me.

"I guess I should be happy that anyone showed up for me, right?" Clay asked. His voice sounded rougher than usual. He coughed again. "Or are they all waiting for you to leave before they come in? Why are you here, Suzanne?"

It sounded to me that Clay was doped up on his medications. But I had promised Chibs that I would tell Clay, and Chibs was more of a dad than any of the "fathers" I had ever had in my life. Duke was an abusive asshole who never cared, Clay didn't know I was even his, but Chibs was caring and Chibs was there waiting for me outside.

"Clay, there's something you need to know." I said. Clay looked completely unconcerned.

"And what's that, Miss Moody?" Clay asked.

I had thought about exactly how I was going to say it, and I had decided to start with Julia. "You never knew, but Julia got pregnant, right before she left you, right before she married Duke." I paused for a second and Clay frowned at me through his glazed stare. "Maybe I should tell you when you come to your senses." I said, making a move to stand up. Clay's hand snapped out and grabbed me roughly by the wrist, holding me in my place.

"What are you trying to say, Moody?" Clay asked, and he sounded like how he always did, angry. I sat back down and continued.

"She thought the baby was Duke's, seeing as you couldn't-" I cut myself off, not wanting to accuse Clay of not being able to conceive when the proof that he could was right in front of his face. "Anyway, she told the club members who knew that she had an abortion."

"I knew that," Clay snapped. "Tig told me about the abortion and I knew it had to be mine. She _murdered_ my kid."

"No she didn't," I said quietly. At first I thought that he didn't hear me, but then he blinked.

"What?"

"She didn't get an abortion." I said, louder this time. "She was with Duke long enough so that it looked like it was his child but it wasn't. That baby she was pregnant with, it was carried full term, and it was yours." Clay stared at me, keeping up with me just fine.

"You don't have any siblings," Clay said, almost to himself. "You look like Vince-Vince looked like me."

I didn't say anything, allowing him to continue. Finally, when it seemed like Clay had completely figured it out, the door to the room snapped open and I turned to see Tig standing there, looking a little confused as to why I was there. Tig stammered, "Oh, uh, I'll be right back then." He quickly backed out of the room and closed the door. I glanced back over to Clay to find that he hadn't even acknowledge Tig; he was too busy staring at me.

"You're my kid," Clay said softly, staring at every inch of my face. "You're my kid." He kept repeated himself. Suddenly, he struggled to sit up and lean forward. This time I couldn't help myself; I helped him sit up in his bed. This was followed immediately by Clay wrapping his arms around me as tightly as he could. I hesitated before I hugged him back.

Clay didn't say much else. He just seemed to want to stare at me. After we sat in silence for a few minutes, I told him that I'd be back and that he should talk to Tig. Clay nodded absentmindedly, looking distracted with the bombshell of news he just received. I exited the room to find Tig and Gemma sitting on that bench outside of the door. I nodded to Tig, and he hurried into the room.

Gemma and I locked eyes for a long moment before I smirked at her. "You just lost your leverage." I said. Gemma narrowed her eyes at me and I walked away from her, feeling her dark eyes following me down the hall.


	68. 68: The Rising Son

A knock on my door the next morning sounded as I put Ivy down for her nap. I frowned at the soft knock, right before it started to sound like someone was trying to break down my door.

"Juice!" I said, hurrying to the door. And when I opened it, sure enough, there was Juice, smiling widely with Roosevelt just over his shoulder.

Juice rushed into the house and swept me into a hug that felt like it was about to break my bones. I kissed his face, happy to see him back home again. He looked happier than he had been in a long time, and I knew it was a matter of time before he spilled the beans to me and told me exactly why he was free.

Roosevelt nodded at me from the door and left back to his police car. I nodded at him before closing the door. Juice suddenly became a flurry of questions as he tried to catch up on every detail he missed from the weekend.

I told him about how Gemma found out about Clay being my father, and I told him about how I told Chibs and Clay himself. Juice was silent the whole time, listening intently to every word I said. Finally, when I ran out of things to tell him, I began to press Juice for what happened to him and he told me about how the RICO operation went flat somehow, and that he was home free.

I threw my hands in the air and cheered, "Finally!" Juice laughed at me and reached out to grab at my hands. He held onto them with a tight grip and he kissed my knuckles.

"There's more," He said, looking cheerful. "Potter's left town; he left right after he found out about RICO falling through. So he's not our problem anymore." I smiled and held my hand up for a high five, to which Juice happily gave me. "That and Roosevelt gave me the file about my dad; he said we could tear it up or burn it or whatever we wanted to do."

"I say we shred it and then burn it." I said. Juice laughed again and he had that smile of his on his face, the smile where it looked too big for his face. It had been ages since I had last seen that smile on him, because I knew I always saw it on Ivy's face.

I suddenly remembered what I had been holding inside of me all weekend. "Come with me." I said, grabbing Juice's hands and pulling him up off the couch. Juice narrowed his eyes playfully at me as I pulled him back into the bedroom to where I kept my purse. I let go of his hands and dug through my purse, finding the little box I had been looking for.

Juice stared at the pregnancy test box for a second before he looked back up at me. "You think you're pregnant again?" He asked, his smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

I shrugged. "I noticed it earlier this week when I felt like I had to puke. That and the fact that my period's late again. I've been drinking water all weekend just in case."

"You haven't taken the test yet?" Juice asked.

"No! I wanted to tell you first; isn't that what normal couples do?"

"Define normal," Juice said before pushing me towards the bathroom. "Take the test now. I'll be on the other side of the door when you're finished."

I hung out in the bathroom for the time required before I looked down to the tiny stick. With the results in hand I walked out of the bathroom to find Juice sitting on our bed looking anxious. When he saw me his eyes brightened and he raised his eyebrows went up just a little bit. I held up the test and smiled at him, silently letting him know. Juice caught on and let out a loud whoop before running over to me to kiss me.

* * *

I was at the clubhouse with everyone else. We had all received the call that Clay had stepped down as club president; Jax was in charge now. When we first arrived, Juice hugged his brothers for the first time since he was threatened by Potter, and I saw the crow-eaters Kristy, Naomi, and Lizzy; my friends. They were thrilled to see me again, seeing how I had been avoiding the clubhouse. Gemma didn't say anything to me; she stood over by the side and glared at me.

By now it seemed to spread like wildfire about Clay being my dad. No one seemed to treat me differently; Tig walked up to me and hugged me tightly, "No wonder I liked you right after we met, kid."

It was at this time that Juice announced my pregnancy. It received the reaction I would've expected from the club: everyone congratulated me, Tara and the rest of the crow-eaters and even Gemma looked happy for me, and Chibs came over to hug me tightly and kiss that spot right between my eyes. Then he slapped Juice on the shoulder.

It was around this time that Jax showed up. He greeted everyone before going into the chapel. They didn't close the doors behind them, which I thought was a little odd, but then I realized that this was a statement. Jax wanted all of us to know about who was in charge now.

Jax took the seat at the head of the table; he directed Chibs into the chair of the Sergeant of Arms. Chibs and Tig exchanged a glance before they switched seats. The vice president seat remained empty as everyone else took their seats. Finally, everyone was in their new seats.

Tara moved past me to Jax. She squatted down until she was looking up at him, "I'm no going anywhere." She told him in a firm voice. I heard the sharp intake of breath right over my shoulder and I glanced over my shoulder to see Gemma glaring at Tara with disdain. I didn't bother hiding my smirk from her; it looked like Gemma was no longer the queen.

I left the clubhouse after that; I wanted to clear my head a bit. I walked outside and looked up at the sky to see that it was extremely clear; I could see the stars and it was chilly enough so that my breath filled the winter air.

It was hard to believe that last year I had come to Charming looking to sell my late uncle's restaurant. I had come to Charming to escape Duke and Julia Moody, to hang around this town to pay off some student loans and then find another town to settle down in. And here I was now: twenty-three years old, disowned by the Moody family, adopted by a Scottish biker named Chibs, married to the best man anywhere and the mother of his child and pregnant with his second child, and I had also found out that the abusive man I thought was my father wasn't my father. Instead I got another abusive man as a biological dad.

There was no way to have predicted the events that occurred in almost two years. The second I joined this way of life, I had been in over my head. But now, for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I could just float.

The door to the clubhouse opened and I saw Juice standing there, smiling warmly at me with that expression on his face that let me know that he loved me. With a smile to rival his, I hurried back inside to where my family was waiting for me.


	69. Author's Note

**A/N: Holy crap, this story is finished. I was beginning to think that I would never reach the end, but I enjoyed this nonetheless.**

**Firstly, I'd like to thank ANYONE who took the time to read this story. When I first started this story, I didn't think it's get as long as it did but I'm so glad it got this far. Thank you to anyone who reviewed or favorited, once again it means a lot. :)**

**Secondly, I am planning to write a sequel to this following the end of season 4, so basically seasons 5-7. I figured out a while ago that I want to separate this entire series in half and write that way, so that's what's going to happen! I have no clue when the sequel will be up, but I don't think it should take long (maybe). **

**Once again, thank you sooooo much for reading and sticking with this. :)**

**-Katie**


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